At the Heart of Daybreak
by S e r p e r i o r
Summary: -DISCONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE- This story will remain up for those who want to read it. Higurashi Kagome had forsaken her heart and name the second she betrayed her home village, and even more so when having joined a terrible crime syndicate: Akatsuki. "Save yourself," is what she'd been told. Deidara won't let her go, and what—Kakashi?


**Disclaimer**: Nothing but the idea(s) belong to me.

**Author's Note**: If you had already come upon this story in the past, and are confused, please check out my profile. Yes, this is seven chapters mashed into one! Unbeta'd and raw, same as the day AtHoD was taken down by me. Sorry for the inconvenience, but this story is up here merely to hold its place until one day I come back for it. It is for the few who may want to read it. That is my excuse for this one-chapter glob of a discontinued story. Either way, enjoy! ^_^

**Navigation Tip**: Press "CTRL" + "F" and type in "Chapter Three" if you wish to jump to that chapter. "Chapter Four," "Chapter Five," and so on.

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_**At the Heart of Daybreak**_

© x0SilverFeathersx0, 2005

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**Chapter One: Whim of the Fallen**

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"We have in our possession the Ichibi, Nibi and Sanbi at the moment," stated the overshadowed leader of Akatsuki, while keeping an observant eye on all six of his remaining subordinates. "I'm positive that at least one of you have discovered your assigned Jinchuuriki's exact location… or are my expectations too high?" An awkward silence occupied the area and the man wondered with vague aggravation if the other members truly were clueless or just preferred not to share their valuable information whilst in a lethargic mood.

He had thought to disperse the rare gathering of the secret organization and was just about to do so, until a quiet and feminine voice piped up, "I was saving an old track I managed to dig up for later, but now would probably be the best time to bring in Houkou." A blossom tucked into the side of the speaker's head radiated a weak light for a few seconds, before toning down to a malevolent glow.

"Ah, so you think you can handle the Five-Tailed Dog on your own?" the leader asked with amusement, though more so rather phlegmatically. The particular woman whom had spoken worked without a partner, but her killings were near-always smooth and efficient.

She stood with her body against the inner cave's rough walls, frowning under the collar of her cloak.

Then, raising an eyebrow at the murky figure belonging to the head of Akatsuki, with clarity she articulated, "I appreciate your concern, suggesting how I as a woman would be too weak and frail to solo a tailed beast, but I'll be just fine." Her tone revealed her annoyance.

A furtive smirk marred the man's features, as yet again, an oppressive atmosphere overlaid his hidden domain.

He was not able to provoke the kunoichi any further, however, for a masculine voice soon intervened.

Seeing it as justice that he add his own piece of thought, Deidara suggested, "Then why not send backup to ensure success of capturing the Jinchuuriki, in case she fails?"

The flower embedded within luscious strands of dark-blue locks—said to have once been the color of fair ebony–trembled to emphasize the furiousness her body language was hinting at. The woman's hands, stationed at her side, curled into tight balls.

"And who would you recommend for such a position?" questioned the other more superior shinobi. He was familiar with his lone female associate's inherent temper, and had been thoroughly disappointed when the blonde's interference threw him off his course. Nevertheless, he determined the cruel fun to have come to its proper end and regained his thinking as a chief, and not a taunting child.

"Most likely, the best choice," Deidara answered coolly and conclusively, "would be me, un." He emphasized the displayed confidence by shifting his long golden bangs away from his mechanical eye in a single fluid motion with his right hand.

Their eyes having adjusted to the obscureness, the scattered members could see one another and their physical actions. In response to the cockiness of the artist that worked with dangerous types of clay and her own displeasure, a fist was raised by a certain lady leaning against a massive boulder. Someday—hopefully soon?—she would personally knock the heads of all the overconfident males in Akatsuki off their shoulders. In a clean cut, too.

His mouth forming the replica of a small hole, the leader consented, "Very good, you'll both see to the seizing of the Gobi no Houkou. Tobi will manage by himself while he is without Deidara, and the rest will either search for or confirm rumors regarding the whereabouts of the other bijuu." In the background, a troubled young woman massaged her temple with dainty fingers, muttering incoherent complaints about how sexual discrimination amongst ninja were ridiculously high as of late. "Meeting dismissed."

—

Deidara, the former rock-nin, declared, "This reminds you of the time from years ago, doesn't it?"

The ghoulish howling of a strong breeze snaked through a pair of identical black outfits customized with cerise clouds, and allowed them a short moment to fly with the guidance. Two unfamiliar and suspicious looking people traveled up the dusty road which would lead them into a different country.

"Don't even remind me," the colleague of the man deadpanned. Anyone could tell that the voice belonged to an irate female. A stray bit of dirt being carried by the wind lodged itself into her right eye, and the stranger blinked repeatedly in hopes of ridding it. When that tactic proved to be unsuccessful, she used her curled index finger to rub at it instead. Such troubles small incidents could cause for a woman, during her most inconvenient times. Deciding that she needed to vent off her unbearable build-up of frustration, she interrogated the man beside her, "How come you're tagging along when you already have Tobi? Does it seem like I would get crushed so easily?"

A bold azure eye shifted over to her like a hawk's would, a veiled distinction behind them, as the male countered, "You're not stupid. I'm sure you know the answer to that. But why direct such frigid treatment towards me, hmph?"

The kunoichi striding by his side turned to face him at a mocking angle and sent an expression that said: _You're impossible_.

"I couldn't miss the chance of having you all to myself, un," the blonde quipped in jest.

"Deidara," the woman called in a genial voice that was nowhere near as threatening compared to her previous tone. Then, as though her character had transformed abruptly into something a whole lot more contemptuous, she scorned, "You know what could happen if you say those kinds of things around me." She narrowed her into a disapproving glare at him. Yet, although she spoke to the man with contempt and expressed such distaste towards him, somewhere deep within her eyes was the spark of fire. One not intending harm nor to offend, but holding an aura of familiarity, and a sort of friendliness—at least, as much as a high-class criminal could offer. And Deidara knew well of that small, flickering flame.

"Oh, is that so," the male murmured craftily, a handsome smirk dominating his lips. The faces of the sauntering figures were concealed by bamboo hats flaunting thin white slips, and the high collars of their unique garments. Finding the once entertaining topic to now have died, Deidara inquired in a serious manner, "Why did you wait until now to hunt down the Goubi? You were only delaying your own completion."

The woman bid her time to search for the right words, and did not acknowledge him until minutes later.

With thoughtfulness she remarked, "Today… was the day I felt right, to go after my assigned bijuu. Since the Jinchuuriki is an old acquaintance of mine, I thought it was about time for me to pay them a visit. It's been a while…" Tuned back down to the mute atmosphere it had been earlier, soaring specks of earth were what made any noise in the valley.

Deidara's lips formed a ghost of a smile from beneath the weightless material shielding him from the sun, as he mentally grasped hold of what his associate had said.

"So you're in need of a worthy test subject, un. Either that or you couldn't bring yourself to kill this jinchuuriki until now," he assumed aloud.

From under the shade provided by her own woody covering, the kunoichi smiled.

It was a nice smile, one reflecting a benign soul. However, that quickly died down, once her lips tilted into something more sinister. It would send shivers down the boldest of any shinobi's spine, to see the transformation that had just occurred. Nevertheless, the duo proceeded onward in absolute stillness; one anticipating a reunion, while the other foresaw an interesting battle.

—

It had taken another hour, but a massive waterfall now greeted their eyes with the peaceful motion of its actively falling substance. Instead of using a method to pass through it and enter Takigakure however, the female missing-nin steered left and trotted ahead, her curious companion in pursuit like an obedient pet. She stepped into a tinier pool of azure, balancing her chakra to be able to walk upon the glassy surface, and performed swift hand seals before tapping the cascade that fueled it with water.

"Release," she whispered, and the continuous flow of liquid split straight in half to reveal a secluded entrance. The woman gestured for Deidara to follow her inside, and after only a few steps of their feet, did they emerge from the passage and out onto a gargantuan stony area perfect for sparring at. It was possible to take in an undisturbed view of the whole cleanly sky just by looking up, as there were no stalactites—nor a roof for them to hang from–in the dome, which would've been appropriate.

In the exact center of it all, a woman in the set of graceful white and silver battle armor stood out from the never ending mass of gray, and lifted her chin to face the intruders. The hitai-ite on her forehead gleamed in the brilliant light that reflected off of it, as did the trench knives she had equipped. By the way her body was poised and how sweat glinted on her pale bare skin, it would be assumed that she had been in constant movement, training.

Reaching up to grab the sturdy hat she wore, the female Akatsuki member lifted it up and dropped it without concern to the floor. Next, she threw aside her cloak to reveal a navy-colored kimono that was sleeveless at one side, with the bottom ending halfway before her knees, and black bandages enclosed around her thighs, forearms and hands; nimble fingers were left uncovered. She wore fishnets underneath to prevent cleavage from peaking through the delicate outfit's opening at her chest, and to hold them in place for when she initiated action. Tied around her waist was her hitai-ate with the symbol of a waterfall, slashed across to represent defection.

"You would dare… to even set foot in this country again?" belittled the other, older female who looked strikingly similar.

Deidara surreptitiously reached inside the pouch at his side to devour a small amount of the clay with the mouth of his palm.

The sudden savage clashing of metal against metal vibrated throughout the hidden training ground. Trench knives against kunai, both enhanced with chakra. As the women kept their hazardous positions, the raven-haired individual seethed, "You've certainly grown, _Kagome_."

They broke away and jumped back a fair distance from each other. Kagome crouched down after having pocketed her kunai to retrieve her preferred shuriken set, forged of the hardest steel, while her opponent remained in a ready stance. "I have no doubts that you know what I've finally come for, Kikyou—iie, _Nee-san_," proclaimed the missing-nin, raising her deadly stars and calculating the angle at which she would have to launch them from.

Deidara raised an eyebrow at the intriguing yet sensible new bit of information (_No wonder they appear too much alike_), while the teeth of his left hand still functioned to manipulate the blob of clay.

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**Chapter Two**: Never Look Back, Sister

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The naturally constructed training ground was eerily silent and gushing tension from every crack within its walls of stone. Up above, a proud male eagle soared through the sky, screeching mightily in all its magnificent glory. It kept to the area and circled the boundaries of the dome, as if it knew a great battle were soon to begin, and did not wish to miss any action. Animals often had spectacular instincts, and knew exactly when something big was about to happen.

It all began when Kagome, in a flash of light, fired her first assault by whipping forward an army of steeled stars.

Made of the hardest and sharpest materials around, they were indeed capable of causing heavier damage than the average shuriken. The price that came with it was added weight. Therefore, you had to be quite skilled at hands if you wished to use them effectively. After all, it was no use having equipped hefty instruments of war if your enemy could dodge all you threw at them—whether it was because they had heard the heavier-than-normal stars cutting through the sky, or actually seen the projectiles coming with sharp eyes.

That had been the case with Kagome's shuriken when she had first started using them. The kunoichi had indeed been excited after finally receiving the deadly weapons she'd put in a request for, to a talented shinobi blacksmith who promised her great weapons in the exchange of not ridding him of his precious life. Any details other than that were lost amidst the woman's mind (had she kept the promise of not killing him, or gone back on her words mercilessly?), but what she could faintly recall, was how difficult it was for her to start training with her newly added items.

It took Kagome nearly a few months just to be able to throw one of her stars in a straight line—completely useless for combat as of then. She tried to figure out specifically how to use them correctly; going as far as to look over facts about gravity and nature's law and ninja star-throwing lessons she had learned as a child. Back then she had definitely found out some things unknown to her before, but not enough to fix her dilemma. As silly as it was, Kagome would end up thinking for hours up in bed, the desire to sleep replaced with longing to use her beautiful shuriken in battle. After over a whole year of just that, and repeat, the young lady had started to eventually lose her patience. _Is the hassle worth it?_ she would ask herself repeatedly. Right before she almost gave up, however…someone highly unexpected lit the match for her.

With that event, the clouds of darkness and uncertainty had been blown away. Thanks to her 'helper', Kagome could then officially start. Although she then knew how to fling the stars, her mastery over them had yet to be accomplished. After years of constant practice and persistence, it was obvious that _now _she could excellently manipulate her tricky shuriken.

Said stars cut through the air at a great velocity, each sounding off with a sharp _zing_, but were sorely off from their true target—until they curved in their path to correct themselves. It was what Kagome had planned from the beginning. To try and fool the victim was the reason as to why she was trying to 'find the correct angle'. Chakra control of weapons definitely came in handy many times in fights.

Her elder sister was not to be taken lightly, however, for she knew well never to dismiss a possible threat until safety was guaranteed. Kikyou's eyes narrowed visibly, and she quickly drew out from the inside of her left sleeve several small charcoal spheres. As the tracking shuriken neared too close for comfort, she gracefully sprung back towards a rocky border, and when having felt the rough texture beneath her ninja sandals, made another powerful leap while the kinking of two metal objects announced their evident failure of seeking human flesh.

Floating a split-second in midair, the Falls-nin tactfully threw a few of her black pearls at Kagome, and launched the rest at every other spot on the grounds imaginable. When the balls plunged down and felt the impacts of their fall, they erupted a violent purple gas of smoke.

Kagome immediately covered her nose with the one-sided sleeve of her fighting kimono. Her eyes darted from left to right and back, searching for any sign of movement within the disturbing haze. Then realizing something shocking, her chocolate orbs widened slightly for a fleeting moment before she performed an agile, full turn on her feet.

Without hesitation she drew from the holster tied around her right thigh a kunai.

A glint of something metallic reflecting off light caught Kagome's sights, and she brought up her weapon at a particular slant. True to her instincts, the trench knife of Kikyou's left knuckle, came straight at her and collided with the readied combat blade. The older woman's right fist slashed horizontally across with a concentrated amount of chakra fueling her tool. It glowed blue and sliced cleanly through the middle of Kagome's kunai, forcing the top half to chip past a side of its owner's unveiled cheek.

A straight cut marred Kagome's bare face, and a line of blood trickled down. Her petty wound automatically felt a burning sensation, and she assumed that the smog suffocating her was indeed poisonous. She noticed Kikyou was wearing a mask that covered half her face. The sleeve of her outfit was not enough to stop the fumes from entering her nostrils, and the female Akatsuki member could feel the effects elevating.

A light sensation was also taking over her head, and causing major discomfort.

"Had enough, baby sister?" Kikyou inquired coldly from behind her protective gear, before inserting more chakra into her trench knife and pushing against the leftover of the defying kunai. She aimed for Kagome's unprotected chest with her other fist and fiercely knocked the wind out of the missing-nin. At that moment, the losing kunoichi (pushed off the balance of her feet from the force and struggling to quickly get back in tune) mentally asked herself why she never carried around proper tools for intoxicate situations, such as the current one.

Kagome saw a flash of darkness pass over her elder sibling's caliginous orbs, and knew from there that the awaited time had come. With all the strength she had at the moments, she pushed forth to cause clashing of weapons again, and her wrist cocked to the side, before she swiped across with her broken kunai to knock back her enemy. Fighting fire with fire was sweet, especially for a woman.

Her tactic worked well enough to give Kagome a few hasty seconds to escape. Before she did, the kunoichi replied tersely, "No, not yet. Not ever."

She leapt back only to land in an area still contaminated with the long-lasting toxin, before she repeated her jump again—returning to the same results. "This is bad," she commented to no one in particular. The whole place must've been touched by the orchid gas, and she had no safe footing available.

Then, a familiar cawing reached her ears, and with a smile of gratitude she knowingly took the chance to thrust her sleeved arm high above her head. In no time she felt and heard the roaring breeze of something monstrous coming close, and the texture of another human's flesh entwine with her own. Kagome was instantly lifted up from her toes, and felt the rush of wind against her face; uplifting her bangs. Looking up, she saw a smug expression on her blonde savior's features, though this time it wasn't so irking for her to see.

"You owe me for this one, un," Deidara told his ally as he assisted her in jumping onto his clay masterpiece. When she was aboard, their hands were still linked, and the kunoichi's left eyebrow twitched, before she shook him off. Oh, the man was just so _hilarious_, knowing how to draw a bit of humor from her for himself even during the midst of a battle. Cutting through the smog, wild blows of gusts produced from the bird's wings took an affect on the disturbed fumes and rid them from the battleground.

As the artificial flier maneuvered itself to go up into the sky, Kagome smiled—although Deidara couldn't see her behind his back—and said, "So this is what you were making earlier…thank you."

He didn't respond, but she knew the man had received her gratitude.

The clay bird was stationary in the midst of the sky above the dome, and the kunoichi reverted back to her game-face; looking down to study the broad terrain. The lasts of the intoxication cleared, and beneath the dying purple haziness, she saw the figure of her sister—and opponent. Kikyou's mask had been stashed away, a sign that there would most likely be no more poison jutsu from her. And apparently she'd traded in her trench knives for a glorious sword, which shined brightly under the sun's glare.

"Don't come down unless I tell you," the female told her ally, who gave a curt nod in reply. She wiped roughly across the minor wound on her cheek once, and stared solemnly at her own blood before raising her head. "I can tell…the fight's going to get serious now," she murmured before allowing herself to drop from the convenient traveling method. Landing precisely on one raised knee and arms spread apart (fingers planted into the ground) supporting her weight, Kagome steadied herself and looked directly into her foe's eyes.

"So this is what it has come down to," Kikyou mused. "The two most gifted out of the Higurashi clan, both finally pitted in a fight to the death. Though before we start I would like to know—why did you return? I have the faintest idea of what your reason may be, but I would prefer hearing it fall from your lips if so. Tell me why, sister dearest." Her stance was not relaxed, nor in a style that was proper to jump in and attack.

Kagome stood up in an erect position, and gazed into the eyes of the one who carried identical blood as she.

Moments of quietude passed, until she fulfilled the exchange of words, answering simply, "I returned"—all attention was on her, "—for the creature sealed inside your body." A tense muteness took control, and the only sounds evident were the flapping emanating from Deidara's airborne creation, and the dying cries of the male eagle still around.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Kagome swore she saw a heat of cherry-tinted red rising on her sibling's luxuriously pale face. Besides that, nothing else physically changed, and she knew what that meant. Although the dark blue-haired missing-nin hated bringing up memories originating from the seeds of innocence, she just knew: Kikyou was terribly angry. She'd only seen it once during her childhood, that expression on her older sister's face—and that was a subject better to be left behind in the past.

Only a few people had ever known of the fearsome Five-Tailed Dog—also known as Gobi no Houkou—which resided within Higurashi Kikyou. The older sister had found out about the dreadful news on her seventh birthday, after the high elders in Takigakure had finally confirmed it to be undoubtedly true. As a child who was not yet even a teenager, she experienced hardships understanding the enormous responsibilities, and consequences, that she'd been given.

The blessings and curses of her carrying around the beast was a double-edged blade. Due to its powers she'd been able to hone elemental techniques at a pace far faster (that was an understatement—it was more like _godly_) than the other children, whether it be lightning, fire, water, earth or wind. Of course that made some of the adults and jealous peers suspicious, but usually the topic was brushed off as nothing but an immensely hard-working child whose efforts had paid off. After all, Kikyou had always been a top student, and it only made Takigakure look better. She became, in the end, their brilliant prodigy. The sort of child seen as _one in a million_, or at times even as _one in the galaxy_.

As for the downsides, the normally calm and cool firstborn female of the Higurashi clan sometimes lost her temper. That actually started to happen—less than rarely if possible, but it did—after she grew a bit and realized more that she was the host for a monster. A sign that it was itching to take over would be an abnormal glint in her eye. The village leader, an old and wise grandmother named Kaede, had devoted extra time and care into making a personal medicine for Kikyou to take, which would greatly suppress the influence of Houkou, though not completely.

There had been a breakout of the demon once, and Kagome remembered it very well to this day. It happened not too long after Kikyou came back from a B-class mission. It was a mystery as to what kinds of things had occurred while the older Higurashi was on her task, but she had to have seen something gut-wrenching; so agonizing, distressing, that Houkou's bloodlust had almost taken over.

That night, the Jinchuuriki of Takigakure had almost killed one of its villagers. It was a normal widow who ran an everyday flower shop. After the life-threatening terror, the woman grew psychotic, paranoid and insane, before finally suiciding in a public river. Kikyou had gone severely depressed after that, and hated herself with a passion, until she eventually got a little over it.

She was unable to ever truly forget though—who could?

But keeping her deadly secret had been successful, for barely anyone knew about it all. Kagome at nine had found out about her sister's unspoken mysteries and doings, although she didn't care very much, as a normal kid who thought the world could do no harm. Plus she loved her sister very much back then (more than anyone). Basically, Kagome knew how touchy the subject was for the raven-haired woman, and to have tapped into it, she must have wished to provoke something menacing. Something _horrifying_.

"I see," Kikyou retorted tersely, in a hard, frigid tone. "Then…shall we begin?" She raised her sword to a ready stance, and without warning chucked it at her target.

Deidara, from up above watched the show with not concern for his temporary partner, but amusement and anticipation. His accomplice had effortlessly dodged the weapon flung towards her by sidestepping it, but did not seem to be at ease, as if she knew something were wrong. The kunoichi knew all too well that the dark-haired Jinchuuriki wouldn't carry out an act so foolish as to discard her treasured main tool like that.

Hearing the sounds of multiple blades whizzing through the air, Kagome jolted backwards and then to the right. In the spots she had just deserted, several swords were planted deeply in her place. Again the swishing of fine metal cutting through was made evident to her ears, and she thought knowingly as her vision darted to and fro, _A genjutsu—it must've been casted on me while we were talking_. Concentrating deeply, she closed her eyes and brought her hands together in a symbol, before declaring confidently, "Dispel." When her senses were justified, chocolate orbs reopened and saw Kikyou—still wielding the steel cutter as though she'd never thrown it—in a stance to perform another jutsu.

Now would've been the time to think fast, because the elder sister had equal control over all five existing elements and could use them at will—though her techniques would've had more 'fuel behind the fire,' as to say, if she'd specifically been skilled in only two or three. Thus, her authentic talent lied in the usage of genjutsu, where her high intelligence and ability to pinpoint her opponent's mental flaws proved useful. Nonetheless, any jutsu Kikyou slung at her would prove to be fatal if it not handled properly.

Heaving her great sword over the shoulder opposite to the hand holding it, the waterfall-nin's right foot slid back. Then with a great heave she swept the weapon across in a diagonal path, yelling, "Doton_: _Kyousei Hibi!" The ground began to rumble, and split apart beginning from Kikyou's feet all the way forward; the crevice growing bigger each time. Kagome jumped back from the oncoming attack, only for it to keep tailing her. She was forced to continuously repeat her precaution, and the manipulation of earth did not stop until she had basically ran around the whole dome; thus having destroyed it all. The only area unblemished was the one around her Jinchuuriki, who presented the tiger symbol—sword rooted to the terrain, blade-first—and said monotonously, "Katon: Akuma no Gekijou."

Flames sprung forth from the numerous deep chasms, and Kagome hurriedly performed several seals while the flickering monstrosities of red threatened to engulf her. "Suiton: Suishouha!" Out of nowhere a gigantic, aquatic tornado shot down from the sky to its master's service, who parted her hands to forcibly release it from the force keeping it together. It simply collapsed like a cheap stitching unable to withhold the contents inside, and the raging waves effortlessly overpowered the fire. The dome was now filled to the brim with chakra-enhanced water, and had turned into a virtual mini-lake that refused to be drained away, despite the many holes and gaps beneath it.

Kagome swam up from undersea and with the concentration of chakra directed to her feet, was enabled the ability to stand and walk upon the aqueous mass she had brought forth. She could not see her designated jinchuuriki anywhere, and her brows furrowed before her head snapped down and she gasped. Then in her moment of adrenaline, Hidan's influence kicked in. _Shit_…!

By the time she noticed it was too late, and a big wave erupted from the water, along with an armed figure. There was a sick sound of an object piercing through flesh, but no scream as there should be. The sky yawned acridly, and abrupt flashes of gold came out to frolic joyfully. Jolts of thunder pranced playfully, happy to be awoken from their slumber.

A lone breeze ruffled its way through clashing strands of both ebony and sapphire, allowing the hairs to float in front of the women's faces. Both were standing deathly still—one gripping the handle of a sword, which was deeply embedded in the other's abdomen. Splurges of cerise plunged down to corrupt the pool of cerulean. A single drizzle of blood flowed nonstop from the injured kunoichi's mouth, on each side. Her fluid-stained fingers, tainted from the fearful color of scarlet, were wrapped around the sharp blade near its hilt, for the remainder of it had long ago pierced through her body and emerged from the opposite end. It looked as if she'd tried to stop it, but failed miserably.

Deidara watched, unfazed and immobile from the seating on his bird.

Even if your partner actually died, in Akatsuki that kind of tragedy meant nothing to traumatize its members. All ninja were meant to die someday in action, and if it happened, that just meant they would need a new recruit. They were human tools, alive to serve the purpose of one mastermind of whoever they served. No feelings, no heart, no future, no past. If Kagome was killed—of course the blonde did not intentionally _desire_ for that to happen—it would simply then be his duty to complete the unfinished work.

That was the protocol, anyway. His own reason was that he knew Kagome wouldn't go down so easily.

"Nee-san…" Kagome whispered gravely; cold shivers traveling down her spine, as her arms dropped limply.

A flicker of emotion appeared on Kikyou's face, before it was concealed and locked back away (_No, I_…). She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she allowed her sister—no, _traitor_, she mentally corrected—to escape from the clutches of punishment again, like it had happened more than half a decade ago. This time, things would go as planned. Yes, this time she would not make the same mistake as before.

She was caught totally off guard however, when Kagome looked straight at her and smiled sincerely, with those beaten features, requesting softly, "…please, show me Gobi no Houkou."

The missing-nin's next move was so smooth and accurate, that neither Kikyou nor Deidara saw it coming. Using the given opportunity wisely, she swiftly withdrew from her holster a polished kunai, and repaid the damage done to her by stabbing Kikyou behind her left shoulder. A shudder escaped the shocked female's lips, and she stumbled back a few feet; drops of water dripping hastily from her wet, lengthy black hair.

Making haste of the chance she now had, Kagome, cautious of her injury, leapt back and rapidly started a long string of hand seals. Ending on the ox, she shouted, "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" A column of liquid in the form of a bright-eyed dragon arose from the water, and roared authoritatively, before exploding into a rush towards its stunted prey. Kikyou could do naught but gaze into the eyes of terror as her fate came charging. Its mark was true, and the gorgeous behemoth shoved her way under the water along with itself, into doom.

Her eyes slowly opened, and she languidly reached for the distant surface. Her pale fingers were the only things moving, soaring up in desperate attempt to reach the light above. She had failed again, just like seven years ago, and her ultimate punishment would be death. Like the fool she really was, her mind had actually believed again and for the last time, that her baby sister would return to the good—to her old self. That the purest heart Kikyou had seen long ago, had not given up in its struggle against evil, still fighting; that there was naught to lose by believing in faith.

Apparently, there was so much _more _to lose than gain. Nothing was alright anymore.

This was the only way for her to repent; to surrender fighting. The back of her shoulder throbbed with pain, (the icy cold water did help numb it, at the least) and blood surrounded her. Both hers and Kagome's, mixed; frozen in the midst of ultramarine while she sank deeper. As the last of her air escaped through tiny bubbles, she closed her view to the world, and prepared to die. How peaceful, her last moments were…until…

_Allow me to assist you_, a stoic, egotistical voice inserted. Kikyou's dark orbs shot open. She screamed futilely in defiance, and clawed at her throat after the oxygen inside fully ran out. A ruthless laughter soothed, _Do not fret, foolish woman, for you'll live to see another day_. Her conscience was knocked out, and a blinding silver light engulfed her body.

Squinting to try and see if she should expect another ambush, Kagome paid careful attention to the murkiness below her. Assuming things were safe for now, her concerns went to the unbearable suffering located around her belly, and gestured with difficulty at Deidara to come down. With the searing pain making itself more noticeable now that she had no distraction, every second felt like an hour of torture to the kunoichi.

When the blonde landed next to her and got off his gigantic bird, he questioned, "Are we going to retrieve her body, or what?"

"First," Kagome answered tiredly, motioning towards the sword, "Do me a favor and take this out—_now_…!" Her patience was dwindling. The man raised a delicate brow, and decided to do as she wished. Grabbing firmly onto the hilt, he steadied himself before pulling it out as told. No soothing, reassuring, gentleness, or any of the sort. He simply pulled it out. The weapon slid free from the gash with great falls of crimson, and the groaning kunoichi dropped to her knees, one hand over her wound, panting, "God…it hurts…so…_nngh_…!"

The rest of her words were lost in a rush of grumbling and mild swearing.

"Hmph. Seems like Hidan accomplished _some_thing before he died," Deidara grunted, tossing the bloody sword he held in his hands away; to sink beneath the lake, forgotten.

Getting up and barely being able to balance herself, Kagome hissed, "No time for jokes yet." She looked to the depths below. "This fight isn't done. Go up."

Deidara nodded seriously, before taking a seat on his bird and rising back to the sky. Houkou was a beast that manipulated all elements, and electricity would greatly malfunction his clay assaults.

He would allow his temporary 'partner' to continue a little longer in her spotlight.

Smearing more of the plentiful blood from her wound to a palm, Kagome did the proper seals and slammed it down upon the slippery surface, which responded to the harsh impact with a splash. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A blinding light engulfed the once dry grounds, and a shining obsidian jewel materialized in front of her. Not long after, it unleashed a breath-taking flash of onyx that overtook the light and darkened the whole area with an ominous shade and essence.

Deidara having shielded his eyes from the bright glare, lowered his arm back down to see what had happened.

What he saw could have awed any ninja. An exceedingly large animal that took up over three-fourths of the battleground stood proudly in all its majestic glory; Kagome perched on top of its head. She was down to one knee, still suffering from her injury. The woman whispered faintly, "Thank you, thank you for coming."

"You had better reward me generously," the creature spoke haughtily. The gloomy clouds began reacting to the more frequently occurring thunders, and a storm of tears rained down accompanied by crashes of lightning. The behemoth sniffed the humid area, before its black-lined lips curved up maliciously, seething,"This scent I remember too well—_Gobi no Houkou_…!" Barely mindful of Kagome's position, the supreme being tipped its nose towards the sky and howled, bracing itself for a portentous battle.

—

Doton: Kyousei Hibi  
– Earth Release: Great Fissure

Katon: Akuma no Gekijou  
– Fire Release: Devil's Fury

Kuchiyose no Jutsu  
– Summoning Technique

Suiton: Suishouha  
– Water Release: Water Collision Destruction

Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu  
– Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique

* * *

**Chapter Three: Who are the Real Beasts?**

* * *

A violent cough shook Kagome's body, forcing her to vomit blood onto a portion of the magnificent fur coat of her summoned animal, to its disgust. Her body ached horribly and pined for rest—but at the moment there was no time for that. She was so close to completing not just her mission but also a personal goal: completely dominating and destroying her sister, bijuu included. As close as she could anyway without fully claiming their life, for it would be troublesome if the jinchuuriki died before the monster within her was extracted.

"Don't pass out on me now," the great dog warned, expressing a sliver of compassion and concern. Since she was the one who had called it forth, if Kagome fainted on the spot that would spell trouble for the creature, having no directional orders to follow. Not _obey_ of course—just follow. Their relationship and contract was different in the sense that the beast would not look upon its summoner as its master, but as its ally or below it in regards. Never above his mighty, prideful self; after all, the reason it was ever requested for help was because _it's_ raw _power_ was necessary for combative reasons; _it _was the one that was needed.

"…of course not," replied the kunoichi perched on top of the animal's head, wiping the blood off her face using her sleeve. Smeared remnants stayed put, but now was not the moment to worry over such vanity-like problems. Dark brown orbs alert, she peered into the water looking for any telltale signs. Seeing an unmistakable bright light forming beneath the water, Kagome narrowed her eyes. "It comes, Kurayami-sama!"

Growling, the summoned creature leapt back, just in time as an equally massive being shot up from the body of water, snarling heinously. It was a canine as well, though the main difference between the two were that it bore five tails and had pristine white fur. The monster's eyes widened upon realization, an almost murderous look present in them.

"Oh Houkou," Kurayami cackled, "how delightful for me that we meet again,"

Goubi no Houkou sneered, its black lips curling upwards. "I couldn't agree more. Another chance for me to sink my fangs into your jugular."

The black dog smiled malevolently, its animalistic features turning feral and hackles rising. "Same here, pup."

Standing on the back of his bird a safe distance away but still close enough to hear the actual conversation, Deidara observed the events from above. His eye twitched while watching the scene below him thinking, _Those dogs are fucking crazy_. Feeling both their palpable killer intents, he considered reminding Kagome's dark summon that the Goubi was to be taken alive and not to have take things too far, but thought better of it and withheld himself from doing so.

Something told him these neither of these savages were likely to be reasonable. His instincts cautioned him to stay out of the way lest he be forced to endure crossfire, so he concluded that he would let his kunoichi partner take the responsibility. His job was to stay airborne and remain in place, until the precise moment arrived for him to bomb the bijuu, finishing it with critical wounds.

Kagome didn't even appear to have full control over her own summon—he had heard her refer to it with a high honorific. (Below, she said it again. "Kurayami-sama—") It was curious: he wondered how she had been able to find such an abnormal and sinister creature, and persuade it to sign the contract with her. He had never seen anything like it before; it was marginally worse than Orochimaru's Manda, though only because this Kurayami was too boisterous and talkative for its own good.

Placing a hand on her forehead Kagome tried to calm her mind and regain her concentration; vision slightly blurry. The loss of so much blood was making it intensely difficult for her to continue marching confidently into the battle. With the damage she had sustained so far, she knew she had no chance winning alone, or even with Deidara's aid. That's why she had turned to the final resort and took it upon herself to summon with the last of her strength: Kurayami, the sinister canine in leagues with Manda the snake, another terrifying creature. Though even she had to admit, the latter was far more humble than her own partner.

_I have to stay conscious_, she pushed herself. _I have to see to my victory against Kikyou. _

The colossal being beneath her lunged forward; Kagome grabbed onto its silky fur, bracing herself as Kurayami dove in for the first attack.

Curiously, the Goubi seemed as though he were somewhat distracted, because he shook his head vehemently instead of trying to dodge the incoming attack. Having come to its senses in the last second, the monster briskly jumped, barely avoiding getting damaged.

"_Die_!" Houkou bellowed, opening its jaws wide. Other than revealing its menacing fangs, a dangerous obsidian orb formed at the center of its revealed mouth, growing swiftly in size by the second. It unleashed the dangerous attack upon its arch nemesis, hoping for a result the likes of elimination.

Teeth bared, the other monstrous dog wasted no time and threw its entire weight to the right, barely evading the otherwise fatal blow. As the intimidating, deadly sphere skidded across the floor of the earth, it annihilated everything in its path, leaving a neat trail behind it for miles on end. Kagome bit down on the bottom of her lip, Kurayami's sudden movement having irritated her already dizzy head.

Examining the aftermath of the Goubi's special technique, Deidara acknowledged the beast's potential with a low whistle. In the astonishing assault's wake nothing had been spared, as far as the eye could see. Whatever the onyx ball had met with on its direct path was now neatly wiped out of existence; destroyed completely and utterly.

"Shame you missed," Kurayami taunted coldly, slamming its paw against the side of the bijuu's face, eliciting a whimper and knocking it back several steps on the water. "I know the secret behind that attack. It's powerful yes, but every time you use it you lose a considerable amount of chakra. You're slipping, pup**.**"

Houkou recovered quickly and jumped forward, bristling. Mouth stretched all the way open, saliva showing and all, the monster barked, "Do not look down on me, you _insolent dog_!"

The two creatures pounced at each other with sharp fangs, ending up in a stalemate while they both stood on their hind legs, sinking their teeth and claws into the other. The image if not alarming, would have been breathtaking in a majestic type of way. Two mythical creatures full of danger and threats, combating each other and holding nothing back, drawing forth pools of blood from one another. The cerise liquid stood out like the stars at night on the bijuu's white fur, dripping in intervals into the water below.

"Now! Hurry, I've granted you an opening!" Kagome's summoned animal commanded of her, its resonating voice sounding rather muffled through its closed jaws while it signaled to her that it was the correct time for her to intervene. The sounds of lightning banging against the earth made their agreement. Goubi no Houkou, eyes wide in realization, released his hold on his opponent and attempted to get away; only to realize it was impossible to free himself of Kurayami's death grip. In his trying to flee he only succeeded in getting more of his sleek body torn due to the stubborn black dog's refusal to release him, sinking his fangs deeper. "Do it—!"

Kagome stumbled as she stood up, her body glistening with sweat. She was so close to fainting, but now at this perfect opportunity she couldn't allow herself to mess up. Her animal comrade would not forgive her if she did, either. That would not be a pleasurable outcome, knowing its unforgiving and ruthless nature; cruel, even.

She completed the necessary hand seals, her mind resolute. "Suiton: Suihebi Otoshiana (Water Release: Water Snake Ensnarement)!"

Enormous serpents borne of water but frighteningly real to the touch shot up with speed from the depths of the lake, starving mouths open wide, fangs glistening dangerously every time the thunder hit down from the sky and illuminated the scene. As many as a dozen latched themselves onto the white dog's form, most of them embedding their hard, clear blue teeth into the tantalizing meat. The largest one took it upon itself to constrict the bijuu's neck, tightening its grip treacherously. Kurayami took it upon itself to throw the dog caught in its teeth against the hard rock walls, taking opportunity of its enemy's distracted moment and causing injury

Houkou howled in pain, but for a different reason other than the one Kagome, Kurayami and Deidara all expected. "Conniving _bitch_, damn you…let me do as I see fit. Do you wish to die, _human fool_?**" **the demon howled to the entire universe, its internal frustrations made apparent.

Kurayami nodded sagely, understanding. It turned its massive head to stare at Kagome from the corner of its crimson eyes, green pupils wide. "You realize what's going on, don't you?"

"More or less, I think I do," Kagome wheezed, clutching at her wound, watching the rabid bijuu before them, no longer bombarded by her snakes which had descended back to whence they came upon their master's dip in chakra supply. The brute banged its head recklessly against the sides of the once well sculpted dome, reducing it to even more of a miserable crumble; trying to empty its mind and gain freedom over its actions.

"A pity," the dog of darkness drawled, sitting on its haunches as if now bored of its prey, "leashed by a _human_."

Kagome did not waste time, knowing the perfect opportunity to end it all was now. "Deidara!" she yelled, mustering what strength she had to cry out, lifting her head to the sky. "_Now's it_!"

"Finally, hm!" the blonde shinobi exclaimed, the mouths on his hands already providing him with hazardous clay ready to— in Deidara's terms, _blow shit up_. He mashed his callous fingers together expertly for a brief moment, and upon opening his palms he saw countless simple animal figurines. "You two might wanna move, un!" he warned his comrade and her summon below before releasing his masterpieces to the depths of the world, watching as the tiny creations transformed mid-air and grew incredibly big in size. Giant white birds, his signature trademark, dove towards the distressed bijuu like heat-seeking missiles, cawing fearlesly.

Clinging onto a thick patch of black fur for her life, Kagome shouted, "Kurayami-sama!"

"_I got it_," the dog assured her, instantly crouching down and leaping back a good distance, far from the dome.

Deidara lifted his hands in the ram seal. A delighted look took hold of him as he glanced at the still struggling Goubi, its body infested completely with the works of his brilliant art; like persistent ticks on a canine.

Now it was time for the _best _part.

"KATSU!"

A ridiculously bright flash enveloped the dome, the perilous intensity of its light blinding all those present to witness it; even the _artist _that had given birth to such an effect having to shield his eyes with the sleeve of his cloak, the self-satisfied smirk clearly visible on his face. Kagome buried herself for safety in Kurayami's fur, taking refuge while the regal dog itself could only turn its head away from the source of luminosity. A heavenly glow lit the land for miles on miles.

—

Surprised to find herself still breathing, Kikyou slowly opened her eyes to reveal light brown colored orbs. Half-lidded, the windows to her soul showed that she was exhausted beyond belief, unable to even move a limb; already dead in a sense. The sky up above was a gloomy gray and as if on cue, began sprinkling water down upon her. She hazily came to realize that she was on her back, zapped of all strength and chakra. The wound her sister had inflicted upon her shoulder ached intensely. But just as well, there was an even worse pain— working ten times harder just to get noticed by her— coming from her legs. Or what was _left _of them she realized, after glancing down uneasily.

A sardonic grin was on her face as she averted her gaze back to the veiled heavens and spoke in a hushed tone, "It looks as though the Goubi was unwilling to let me get by unscathed." Kikyou turned her head a fraction to be able to take into vision her approaching sister, and her dark summon, coming in from the direction of her head.

The earth shook as Kurayami stepped forward, Kagome still in tow on its head, which it lowered to allow her access to the ground. The victorious winner, the female Akatsuki member, approached her near-death sister, the loser of the battle, taking in her utterly defeated and pitiful form. It was odd seeing such a sight; like a once elegant dove now on the ground twitching, its wings having been torn off.

There was nothing present below Kikyou's kneecaps, even the cloth missing. There was only blood, and the sight of tattered skin.

"That Goubi," Kurayami snorted, disgusted. "The sniveling pup must have held a rather deep resentment against you if even during his final moments before defeat, he was intent on taking you down with him for the damage—even if it would only be minor."

The rain grew heavier, washing away a portion of the blood on both Kagome and Kikyou's fresh injuries.

Eyes stoically blank and long hair clinging to her face, Kagome stared at the woman beneath her, crouching down and getting alarmingly close so their faces were inches apart. It was the first time in her life that she towered above her older sister. Having morbidly fantasized similar visions so often at times, finally having her dream come to reality was a tad nerve-wrecking. In her heart she was jubilant and ecstatic beyond imagination, but interestingly against her wishes, there was also a sort of pain.

"Blue…since when?" Kikyou murmured, raising an unsteady hand with much difficulty to gently grab a fistful of her younger sister's tresses. "If I remember correctly, we shared the same hair color upon birth. All Higurashi are born with the natural hue of black."

Kagome's eyes betrayed nothing as she nonchalantly answered, "I'm not a Higurashi anymore."

In response Kikyou smiled tragically—it was beautiful, and really she was the only person who could pull off something like that and still appear desirable—tears falling from her face, the sacred water mixing with the rain. The loose grip she had on her sister's hair tightened threateningly, and she pulled forth to draw Kagome's face even closer to hers. "Sister dearest…you _stupid_ bitch," she said softly, the volume barely above a whisper, eliciting a mild interest from the other kunoichi, only because the latter knew that _Higurashi Kikyou _almost _never _swore or used what she called "foul language unfit for a lady."

At that moment Deidara chose to join the group of three inside the dome, having ridden in with his bird. The creature landed next to Kurayami who was sitting down on its haunches, red eyes glued to the two siblings, as if he wished to serve as an audience to their deep moment, not ready to _poof_ yet. Its actions made it appear quite nosy, though it cared not, believing itself to be above the humans surrounding it.

Kikyou's hand dropped to her side, and she took a deep shuddering breath. "Your day will arrive, very soon."

"Then I'll be waiting for that day," Kagome deadpanned, staring straight into her sibling's eyes. "Whether it comes or not, you won't be alive to witness anymore battles after today."

The Waterfall kunoichi chuckled quietly, the majority of the melodious sound stuck in her chest. She released her hold on the other woman's hair. "So dark now Kagome, so dark. You've become a different person entirely. It makes me wonder if the baby sister I cared for those many years ago actually existed, or was just a figment of my imagination."

Trying not to collapse then and there, Kagome let her back come in contact with the wet ground as she laid side by side next to Kikyou. Her stomach wound was only getting worse; it needed to be tended to soon or she would face an unfortunate predicament. She had already bared with it for so long during the remainder of the battle after receiving it, only because she had mentally screamed at herself to keep going. Now she felt it was alright to let her flaming will falter and stay down; her mission complete.

"Think of it as salvation…Nee-san." The sapphire-haired female stared up at the skies, water droplets bombarding her face; her mouth feeling weird after saying such a _foreign _word.

Amused despite her situation Kikyou spoke, "Indeed. Though for you, it will serve as the exact opposite."

Kagome sluggishly turned her head to the right, coming face to face with her lifetime rival staring back at her, likewise. Higurashi Kikyou—her older sister, her childhood role model, her inspiration and motivation. Her enemy, her rival, her set standard; and now her latest _jinchuuriki _catch_. _

Dark brown eyes met its almond counterparts, and unspoken words transpired between them; a code only they could decipher. Almost simultaneously after, both pairs of orbs closed, losing conscience.

"It's a pity," Kurayami growled, "if only Houkou had not been held back by this woman, we would have seen more than merely a fraction of his true power**.**" After having expressed his final opinion and disappointment, the summoned beast without further ado, disappeared in a puff of smoke. He left behind in the destroyed dome: two wounded, sleeping kunoichi, and the bummed out blonde male ("I always get stuck with the dirty work whenever I'm with her, hmph…") to take care of the mess on his own.

—

"_Ugh_," Kagome hissed, her pain receptors spiking as Deidara dabbed ointment on her stomach wound to prevent any infections. He ignored the tortured groans she made while clutching the bed sheets. She had woken up in the bed of what she assumed to be a motel, and probably a cheap one, judging by the quality of the building. She had opened her eyes when she felt the vague sensation of someone undressing her, to find a familiar head of blonde examining her pierced abdomen before retrieving a peculiar looking bottle that was familiar, along with cotton balls. "Deidara, that hurts!"

"No choice, you have to deal with it. Leader-sama wants you up as soon as possible so we can extract the Goubi, un." In response to the weakened kunoichi wrinkling her nose, he continued, "You'll be okay by tomorrow with this."

"What happened to the…the jinchuuriki?" the woman asked Deidara warily. "Where is she?"

"Zetsu took her to the hideout hours ago."

Kagome stared intently at the ceiling fan, watching it with blank fascination as it whirled endlessly, sending in her way refreshing bursts of air. Hands folded, she placed them right under her covered bosom while Deidara continued his careful ministrations on tending to her wound.

"I see."

—

"What the _fuck _happened here," Inuyasha whispered to himself, bewildered. He gaped at the ruined condition of Kikyou's training spot, and then at the massive path of destruction that lead out in the opposite direction of his village. He had decided to bring food for Kikyou during her training, assuming she would be hungry since she fancied always pushing herself to the limit. Yet as a reaction to his shock at what his eyes had come upon, the edible nourishments had fallen instantly to his feet; their abandonment gone unnoticed.

"Inuyasha!" Kaede called frantically from the ruined entrance into the dome, chest heaving. "Kikyou is nowhere to be found!"

"_What_!" The shinobi gritted his teeth, fists balled. That intense shaking he had experienced in the village hours ago—it had definitely not been an earthquake like everyone assumed. His hands curled into fists, the short nails he had piercing his skin due to the pressure.

Old Kaede approached him, her wrinkled face crestfallen. "Child, judging by the signs of what happened here, she was kidnapped." Then the grandmother paused to chance a glance at the already depressed looking male, before continuing, "According to the chakra trails I was able to read…"

Inuyasha looked at the senior, urging her to continue. He already knew it was going to be bad news because of the deep frown she had on her lips. The man was ready to handle whatever he would be told—nothing would stop him from going after his beloved in order to save her.

"Kagome was here."

* * *

**Chapter Four: Past Present and Future**

* * *

"_Kagome_, _Kagome,_" chanted a group of children standing together, all their miniature hands coupled with the next person in line, forming a circle around one girl in the middle; she was covering her eyes with her arms, participating as the "it" in the game. Her hair was short, ending after her jawline; a small, cute white bow accessorizing it in the back. The others kids surrounding her all held strikingly different looks from one another, some more interesting in their features than others.

Two boys were the only ones possessing similar features: silver tresses that glistened in the sun and molten amber eyes. There was another, more average looking male child, his onyx hair tied back and serving only as a tail. Next to him, a cheery brunette girl, sure to be a beauty once she attained adulthood. To her left was a tanned boy with long dark hair, pulled back into a long braid traveling down his back; cerulean eyes gleeful. Finally completing the circle was a very young lady, with already graceful features blossoming despite her age; her hair straight and similar in style to that of the child's in the middle, the only difference being her own fixed bow was a pastel red.

"_Kagome Kagome Kago no naka no Tori wa,  
Itsu Itsu deyaru? Yoake no ban ni,  
Tsuru to Kame ga subetta.  
Ushiro no shoumen dare?_"

The entire group seemed happy, all of them were smiling, and a few grinning widely as the game proved to be immensely entertaining to their simple, innocent minds. Singing the appropriate lyrics for their source of amusement, they continued to circle the girl in the middle, continually holding hands. Then when the time had come, they all stopped and became totally silent in wait.

As if on cue, the child who had been covering her eyes now lowered her arms, and scrutinized the kids in front of her, trying to think of who it could possibly be behind her. She tapped a pointer finger against the bottom of her chin, engrossed in thought.

Then, beaming, and her precious eyes sparkling, she shouted her answer: "Kikyou-nee-san!" Confident that her answer was right, and desiring to see the expression on her sister's face, the girl turned on spot, a large grin on her face.

But instead of laughter, a scream escaped her petite lips; terrified with what met her unexperienced eyes. It was Kikyou's image as an adult, her body mutilated and strained eyes staring down at her, smirking disturbingly. Cuts and bruises marred her face and skin, blood slithering out through her injuries. Her skin was of a rotted color, and flies flew around her as if they were enchanted, though she did not appear to mind. The woman reached out, extending a disfigured hand, carefully grabbing hold of the child's hair; the youth finding that, to her frustration and greater fright, she was unable to move an inch from her spot.

Eyes swiveling from left to right, she searched feverishly for the sight of her friends and help. All of them were gone without a trace, as if they had never been there from the start.

"_Kagome_," the creature called for her, its voice a mixture of both the actual Kikyou's and something else demonic, "_why did you do this to Nee-san_?" Unwilling to wait patiently for an answer, it came closer to the panicking girl, and…

—

Kagome's eyes snapped open, her pupils dilated as she stared up at the thankfully familiar, spinning fan. While she tried to calm her erratic breathing, she noticed the perspiration that coated her body in a thin, transparent layer. The room was dark, and the blanket making her extremely hot due to its combining with the heat already surging through her startled form. She got up, and felt a slight pain in her abdomen from doing so.

In order to get back in the right state of mind, she forced herself to close the lids on her distressed dark orbs and clear her mind. The nightmare she had just experienced had shaken her to fearful ends; to the point where she was willing to believe it could have been a genjutsu.

Granting herself view of the physical world again, she reached to her left, grabbing the glass of water off the bed stand's surface. She almost choked as she furiously downed the entire cup without ladylike restraint. Upon feeling herself cool off slightly, she placed the item back where it had been before she picked it up. A single hiccup slipped through her lips.

Looking to her right, she saw the other side of the mattress was occupied by Deidara, having fallen asleep on his side with his back facing her. The blonde's hair was free of its usual style, cascading luxuriously down the pillow he was using for his head. His breathing indicated he was deep into peaceful slumber; the masculine body falling and rising in short intervals.

The fear evaporated, and for the first time in a very long while she was glad to see him, even if it were in such a place as her bed. Kagome raised her right hand and placed the palm over her heart. Closing her eyes she regained her complete composure, and once she allowed herself the right to have vision again, had a stern, dark gaze back in place; the signs of trepidation gone. Finally relaxed, she laid back down, concluding her best decision right now would be to continue regaining her strength through rest, and prepare for the soon-to-occur extraction of the jinchuuriki.

In a rare moment of weakness she turned to Deidara's back, and brought herself closer to it, before gently latching onto the material of his shirt and touching her forehead against it. Then Kagome drifted off, returning to the world of slumber, this time no longer terrorized by her memories and dreams.

—

The enhanced healing salve had done its job, or at least what was possible to accomplish over a single night with an advanced medicine. As long as she did not put hard physical strain on her body, Kagome did not feel any pain in her abdomen, and the injury would not reopen. For now it had closed, a thin layer of skin on top, having been formed quickly thanks to the assistance of the medical ointment, though upon initial application it had stung badly. She examined it in the mirror, scrutinizing the damage while she held up her clothing, revealing the skin under her breasts.

With a finger she traced the line of the scar left behind as a memento from Kikyou's prized sword. There were a number of other scars in the approximate area of her skin, but she paid no mind. Through the reflection of the object before her she saw Deidara behind her, situated on top of the mattress, watching her with a blankness present in his azure eyes. His hair was still free of its high half-ponytail, and golden tresses framed his now awfully feminine-like face.

He was waiting for her so they could finally depart, and be on their way. Instead of telepathically being present in the hideout during the extraction of the jinchuuriki they had chosen to fly there since the hideout was located in the Hidden Rain, which was close to the Grass village they currently resided in. It would not do good if the duo were to be ambushed while caught in the telepathic state, in the process of extracting the bijuu.

Kagome was still very powerless compared to her usual self when in good shape. Her injury would merely open back up if she were to engage in combat, and that made her a burden to Deidara in battle. Bitterly she thought about the ninjas back in the Waterfall village, getting a gut feeling that at least a few of them would soon come for her—her old friends—once they realized the events that had taken place, to avenge or retrieve Kikyou. They had all the necessary skills to track her, personally, down; she knew.

Reclaiming her Akatsuki cloak from the wooden table next to her (Deidara had found it after the fight and brought it back with her) she slipped it on, and proceeded to button up the insides. Then, studying her image in the mirror, she lifted her right arm and placed a few ginger fingers on the white rose perched neatly on the side of her head. By now the blonde clay bomber had tied his hair into its usual style and was hunched over his knees, his forearms propped atop them and his fingers steepled.

"Let's go," she said resolutely with a nod.

—

"I fear for the child, ye know how reckless he can be," Kaede murmured, her aged face showing signs of her inner stress. She held a glorious sword in her two hands, the weapon once belonging to her apprentice and pupil, the Goubi no Houkou's female host. She had found the blade within the demolished dome, having followed a weak trail of Kikyou's lingering chakra. "Inuyasha may not stand a chance against Kagome if she has progressed far enough in her skills to defeat her sister."

"Then why did you let him go," said an emotionless voice, making the question sound as if it were a statement instead. The voice came from a divine looking man with long silver hair, his amber eyes fixed into a glare upon the old woman in front of him.

He wore a luxurious white kimono patterned with crimson flower designs in certain areas, and a heavy armor with a yellow sash at his waist. A lengthy pelt was slung over his right shoulder, hovering over the ground near the back of his feet; a token he had received from the prior host of the Goubi before Kikyou came into the scene: his deceased father. The slab of fur was infused with the bijuu's chakra as well as of the dead man's.

"Ye must be aware of how Inuyasha acts when Kikyou is hurt or in danger," answered Kaede with a heavy sigh. "There was no way I could hold him back. This old one could tell by the look in that boy's eyes that he would not have hesitated to cut through me if it were necessary. Ye must understand, Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru nodded stiffly, unable to argue with the village senior on that aspect. A grim appearance overtook his stunning features as he contemplated what was the necessary choice of action at this point. He was very aware of the group consisting of rogue S-class ninjas that Kagome had joined the ranks of: Akatsuki. Their members were all over the Bingo Book, highly wanted dead. They had most likely taken Kikyou deliberately while knowing of the beast inside her, otherwise her body would have just been found dead on the floor of her training ground.

The Waterfall jinchuuriki was still alive; Kaede had confirmed it when she acknowledged the fact that the fire of the woman's chakra in her trail had yet to burn out entirely. Inuyasha had no chance in hell of surviving a direct collision with the band of criminal shinobi on his own; he would be slaughtered in his blind rage before taking a single step. His younger half-brother had a penchant for thinking with his emotions rather than his brain, much to Sesshoumaru's displeasure.

"Do ye have a plan, Sesshoumaru?"

An uncomfortable silence, then: "You once said that Kikyou's sword has an established connection to her own chakra and life source. That if ever apart it would seek to be reunited with its master and work towards such a goal."

"That is correct."

"Then it will lead me to her."

Kaede strengthened the grip she had on the blade emitting a weak glow, chary of getting herself cut by it. She swallowed a particularly large gob of saliva, unsure of whether it was correct to practically send Sesshoumaru to his possible death along with Inuyasha. That was how she felt and viewed the current scenario.

"Yes."

Sesshoumaru took hold of the sword's hilt and lifted it towards himself, pulling it away from the senior's grasp, who had been reluctant in letting go for just a single second. He raised it above his head horizontally, studying the fascinating scriptures written on the metal, his expression betraying nothing. Moments later he turned gracefully on his feet to leave, sword in tow, saying nothing to Kaede. As he left she could not help but imagine that his back was slowly traveling upwards on a flight of heavenly stairs; a rising path to the gallows.

—

"Oh _hey_ there, Sesshou-kun, it's been a while since you've visited us," gushed a metrosexual man, his interest in the similar sex glaringly obvious. His black hair was tied back into a feminine bun, and makeup adorned his still virile face. A single purple path started from the bottom of his eyes to the start of his jawline. He clandestinely lifted up the skirt he wore by a fraction, though the notion did not go unseen by Sesshoumaru, who resisted the urge to annihilate the flamboyant and disgustingly flirtatious man on the spot. "So what brings you here?" A tiny glitter of hope shone in the male's dark orbs.

Never having exactly been cautious of treading on other people's feelings, Sesshoumaru replied cooly, "I have come to discuss a matter with Bankotsu. Nothing more."

Pouting sadly, the man caught sight of the wrapped package in Sesshoumaru's possession. His lips soon curled up in interest after having seen what he did, forgetting right away of his very recent rejection.

"Alright, come this way."

It was not long until Sesshoumaru sat cross-legged with the bundle secured before him, seated on the paneled wooden floor in front of a handsome male drinking shots of sake. While Sesshoumaru was the exact definition of deadly elegance and magnificence, this individual was entirely different. His well-built chest was more apparent through his clothing and armor, showing off hints of what powerful muscles laid underneath. He possessed a boyish charm; a tanned complexion, sharp yet welcoming cerulean orbs, and a very visible scar upon his forehead. He gave off the impression of being a very macho type of man.

"Yo, Sesshoumaru. So what's up?" Bankotsu greeted, curiosity present in his friendly yet calculating eyes.

The silver-haired man directed a meaningful, impassive frown towards the third person in the room.

Understanding what was required to be done, Bankotsu waved a hand towards the bloke, dismissing him. "Jakoutsu, this conversation is probably going to be a private one so you need to leave." As he saw the disappointed, made-up face ("Totally unfair, aniki!") of his brother, the male gave a silly grin in response, pointing guiltlessly to the door. Once a comforting _click_ resonated throughout the room, his expression instantaneously became serious, ready to discuss business, and he gazed directly into the eyes of his childhood friend, waiting patiently for him to speak.

In response, Sesshoumaru uncovered the package in front of him, revealing the gleaming weapon inside to Bankotsu, who gained a look of surprise. He had been unsure in the first few seconds of whether it was the real thing, but now, after having stared at the sword and studied its unique, unmistakable designs and style of forging, had no doubts. Brows furrowed he braced himself for the bad news that would come.

"Kagome"—Bankotsu tensed slightly upon hearing the name, "—has taken Kikyou alive. As of now I am unable to decipher what it is that she and Akatsuki intends to do with her, but I am positive it has something to do with the Goubi." Sesshoumaru wrapped the blade back in its white cloth before looking at the other shinobi.

The dark-haired male placed a hand under his chin, blue eyes deep in thought. "This could turn bad." He saw Sesshoumaru's eyes glint with a look that said _obviously, no shit_ to him. His mind formed a mental image of a little girl from his childhood, and and the adult version of her standing next to the child.

Sesshoumaru nodded sagely. "Inuyasha has already left in search of Kikyou."

An incredulous look crossed the other man's eyes. "That dumbass actually went after Akatsuki by himself?"

"Our village cannot afford to lose Kikyou, as she is an invaluable asset," Sesshoumaru spoke, nearing the purpose of his having come to the Shichinintai family's home. "Despite my skills, I would stand no chance alone, regardless of whether or not I have Inuyasha's aide against a group of S-class shinobi criminals." A pause. "Just as well, it's impossible to rally together an elite force of our village's finest shinobi without catching the suspicious glances of others, due to very few knowing of Kikyou's being a jinchuuriki."

There was a moment of quietude as the other ninja digested the information, before inputting his own answer. "She is a powerful comrade, but also our childhood friend— _that's_ what you should be saying. But either way, we should do whatever we can to rescue her," Bankotsu agreed, the loyalty and concern he had for all his companions immense. "All right, I understand. I'll go with you."

Then he leaned forward and reached out his right arm towards Sesshoumaru, elbow bent so that the forearm was facing up. Golden orbs were fixed on the offered gesture in wordless silence for a good thirty seconds, considering whether to take it up or not. The silver-haired male stared at the other man's countenance, thoughtful. Finally he then complied, and grasped the other tanner, more callous hand in a strong grip; an old indication of friendship—bordering on brotherhood—the two had often shared during their days of youth.

Their determination was set in stone.

—

"_Kagome _did?" whispered an unbelieving Tajiya Sango, a fine kunoichi whose expertise lied in the usage of a monstrous boomerang and several weapons. She averted her gaze to the ground before her, a pained look reflecting off of them.

After deserting their home village without uttering a single word to her, when they were supposed to have been best friends, Sango had preferred never to talk about the traitorous female Higurashi; every time the name came up, she would be moved to heartbreaking tears. Now Kagome had reentered their lives again, but definitely not in the way she had hoped.

Bankotsu nodded gravely, placing a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder in a kind attempt to console her. After leaving the Shichinintai residence, him and Sesshoumaru had summarily parted to seek out the assistance of a certain male ninja and kunoichi, requiring their assistance. Their inner circle of longtime friends were the only ones aside from Kaede and the village leader who knew Kikyou's secret, and had kept it as such for years. Of course Kagome was aware as well—she was the one who broke the oath they had all sworn together as teenagers never to tell.

"Are we…" Sango trailed off, pushing herself to complete the sentence. "Are we going to…kill her?"

Sighing deeply, the man's grip on her tightened. "If that's what it comes down to, yes"—he began to feel a trembling, "—because she's not who she used to be. Kagome has changed."

Sango's hands formed fists as tears ran down her eyes, although when she looked up at Bankotsu, there was a fire of determination in them; along with grief.

"Then…it is my _duty_…as her best friend."

—

"I understand, and agree with you, Sesshoumaru," Houshi Miroku said, the hold he had on his golden shakujo tight. He lifted his right hand up to gaze at its palm, which was concealed by a layer of prayer beads wrapping around it. "I was hoping…that the day wouldn't arrive, when I am forced to use my Kekkei Genkai against Kagome."

"_Strengthen _your will!" Sesshoumaru barked. "A single slip of hesitation is all that's required to forfeit either your life, or a comrade's."

Miroku flinched, showing visibly that he comprehended his companion's coarse words.

—

A group of four stood at the outer edge of their village, having recently finished a long discussion with Takigakure's leader. They had received consent for the course of action they had chosen to pursue. Sesshoumaru peered at his reflection bounding off the blade of Kikyou's sword, the weapon glowing a slight hue; nudging him towards a far, specific location where its beloved master laid in wait for them.

Behind him Bankotsu was positioned proudly on his feet, slightly shorter than the silver-haired man, a massive halberd which he affectionately called Banryuu slung effortlessly over his shoulder. His lengthy black braid swayed with the passing of a stray breeze. Just like the other three around him, he experienced an unpleasant feeling in his conscience, knowing that a difficult battle was coming up…only so intensely problematic because it would be against a person they had all held dear in their hearts, at a point in time.

Sango and Miroku were posted in close proximity, their expressions looking more grave than that of the other two males near them. Within their minds they each whispered to themselves that they must be strong. The woman was dressed in her battle gear, a sheathed sword at her side, and carrying a gigantic, threatening boomerang: her main weapon dubbed "Hiraikotsu." The monk-like shinobi donned his practical black and purple wear, holding his staff tightly.

The setting sun enveloped all four shinobi in its last dying rays, illuminating the unwavering look that claimed hold over all of them. Sesshoumaru pointed the blade he held menacingly in his hands towards the vanishing sphere of fire, his face firm.

"We move."

—

She couldn't shake it off; the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Kagome had been getting a tingling sensation under her skin the entire day, all the while perched upon the back of her current partner's clay bird. Whenever she experienced such messages from her body, it was never wrong in predicting her future. Never. Kagome stared at the bright, full moon gracing the unworthy sky with its presence, her hair flowing charmingly in the wind. She decided there was something she needed to make clear, _now_ at this second.

"Deidara."

"Hm."

"If…if anything _bad_ happens, just save yourself."

The blonde turned around to send her way a dubious look, the cryptic forewarning not making sense to him. He wondered if she had suffered damage to the head and not just her body during her fight with the Goubi and its host. "What the hell are you freaking out about, un? Just sit and be still; we'll reach our destination by morning." His response was cold, but in a twisted way, also kind; he was telling her inadvertently that he would not leave her for dead. After having been acquainted with him for so long, and thoroughly understanding his personality, (he probably had some sort of a complex, she added mentally) the ex-Falls, kunoichi was able to successfully interpret his methods of expressing things.

Kagome ignored his discourteous rejoinder and turned her attention back to the lunar sphere, concerned. "Have it your way then, I warned you."

Something big was going to happen tomorrow; for the better or worse, she could not tell.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Hesitating Means Death**

* * *

"Deidara," Kagome leaned forward and breathed airily into the man's ear, making certain none but him would hear what she had to say; her voice reduced to naught but a hushed whisper, "we've been followed."

The blonde responded with a curt nod, the bob of his head letting her know that he had been aware for the past few hours; of the single pest tailing them persistently from underneath. He had purposely lead the follower to the nearness of the hideout, knowing that they were most likely in pursuit of the Goubi's host. He couldn't depend on the woman right now, so it was best to play it safe and be in the proximity of his other comrades, just in case more enemies showed up in suit. It wouldn't matter anyway, whether it was _one_ or _many_ that discovered the location of the headquarters, as it was guaranteed that their life were to be forfeit the minute they took in its location.

Having reached an area of his approval, a few distances away from the lair, Deidara ceased the movement of his clay bird. He reached inside the clay pouch that was situated on his belt, ahead of the ninja holster, proving it was used more often than the latter. Kagome did not miss the unsaid meaning of his actions, and she herself pulled a kunai out from under the cloak she wore, the shroud veiling her swift motion. Even if she couldn't fight as fine as she usually did, that hardly made her useless; she was still a challenging adversary to face.

Hidden in the midst of a tree, standing atop a firm branch, Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Myouga, why the hell did they stop out of nowhere?" he asked the tiny flea situated on his shoulder, growing wary. The creature was his summon, whether he was proud of it or not, for failing to be as amazing and magnificent—and _big_—compared to the one of his older brother's.

Nevertheless, the little thing had its own invaluable traits and abilities, that perfectly synced with the silver-haired Chuunin's skills and sharp nose. It was also quite knowledgeable and wise when it came to various subjects, and had helped him formulate a plan to track down Kagome, as well as having had influenced him into being patient until they reached the place where Kikyou was trapped. Thus, Inuyasha would be able to rescue the woman he loved and also sprint back to Taki with helpful news of the evil organization's hideout, in order to strategize an overthrow.

"To that I am unsure, Inuyasha-sama, but if I were you I'd be on my guard," the astute bug advised, arms crossed.

Observing the immobile white fowl as it made no signs of moving, and the duo riding on top remaining deathly still, Inuyasha muttered to himself apprehensively, "I don't think this is Akatsuki's hideaway, so why aren't they flying any farther?"

At the entrance of his master's words, Myouga immediately panicked. "_A-Akatasuki _you say? Master, you need to turn around right away! There's no chance that you"—the flea was crushed between its summoner's index finger and thumb, being forced to be silent until he fiercely squeezed back out to freedom with determination, "—will survive! Listen, sir, we need to—"

The rest went unheard to Inuyasha as he faced the sky. "He's getting up!"

Deidara's hands worked feverishly to please their owner, saliva coating the masses of clay caught between their teeth. With a quiet _poot_ they spat out the now chakra infused substance, and began to grin, anticipating a battle. The blonde put his palms together to mold the clay into whatever shape he so desired, which did not take long at all. When he eventually pulled them apart, there were two handfuls of medium-sized spiders now present; deadly devices with the purpose of luring out the enemy from their hiding place, lest they be bombed to death.

He released them by tossing them towards the direction of the vicinity where Kagome claimed the opponent resided. Then he raised his fingers to his face, the ram seal formed. "_Katsu_!" Numerous _booms_ occurred all over the ground instantaneously, as brown smoke rose up in the aftereffect. Ready to aid in its master's purpose, the clay bird which had just been stationary in flight screeched malevolently and dove towards the earth, nose-first.

A flash of red caught the eyes of the two Akatsuki members, and the fowl knowingly cut through the masses of debris in haste, dispersing the heavy clouds caused by Deidara's assault; chasing dutifully after the hidden shinobi. It cawed aggressively, signaling that it was soon going to make direct collision and explode. With precision, Kagome and Deidara simultaneously jumped off towards the back rear of the creature, landing gracefully on the grass and proceeding to straighten their backs; their gazes fixed on what was ahead as the bomb closed in on its target.

"_Bakuryuuha_!" was the bellow that rang throughout the forest, as a tornado crackling with golden energy met the clay bird head-on and annihilated it, causing its premature explosion. The perilous mass of wind headed straight for the two ninjas standing, who rushed sideways in opposite directions in order to evade the potentially fatal move. Kagome, not being able to relocate herself as promptly as Deidara, escaped by a bare thread of her Akatsuki cloak.

After the winds subsided, Kagome examined the panting figure dressed in red, virile shoulders rising and falling, rough fingers gripping tightly onto the hilt of his treasured blade. She recognized his Tetsusaiga easily, as well as the straightforward color scheme present in his clothing. Inuyasha had changed not one bit, and neither had his rash personality, judging by how he had foolishly tailed her on his own. To her it was obvious he had done it because somehow, he was already aware that Kikyou had been kidnapped; she knew of his desperate puppy love for her elder sister.

"Inuyasha," the woman drawled, feeling the forgotten feel of his name on her tongue, "even after all these many years, you still haven't developed a single new brain cell, have you?"

"Shut up, bitch!" the silver-haired male shouted brusquely, refusing to call _her_ by the name he had used often during his childhood, with the utmost fondness. "Tell me where Kikyou is, before I slice up your body into pieces!" He emphasized his threat by raising the point of his sword towards the betrayer of his village. The pupils of his eyes dilated, bestowing upon him an insanely furious look; a fair testament to the sizzling blood rushing through his veins in the very climactic moment.

Calmly, Kagome closed her eyes and lowered her face into the collar of her cloak, smiling. She knew she was the one who would have the pleasure of facing the sword-handling ninja, as Deidara had more of an aerial advantage with his techniques and was better off that way, as he wasn't built for heavy combat nor specialized in it (though she had no doubts he could handle his own). Despite her injuries she was quite confident that it would not be problematic to take care of the impulsive oaf.

"Kikyou?" she parroted, her voice dripping with sarcasm. When she opened her dark orbs, the amusement within them was gone, and she glowered at her sibling's imprudent "lover" with nasty contempt. "Don't bring her up in front of me, because she's already _dead…_Inuyasha_!_"

With that said she sped forward, kunai drawn, the intent to kill radiating off her in grotesque waves. It was true—despite the fact that the fallen kunoichi's body was still attached to the world through her soul by a bare thread, in the very essence, she was completely _gone_. The fact was reinforced by the absence of her legs, which meant that even if she somehow escaped from the clutches of Akatsuki, alive, she would never be able to continue a career as a ninja. To a devoted shinobi, that was the scrupulous equal of being dead.

Inuyasha braced himself with bated breath, teeth bared and Tetsusaiga ready as his eyes concentrated on the woman diving for his very life. It didn't matter if she had been someone of value to him in the past, during his childhood. She was a completely different person now; the traces of her old self having fallen off the edges of the earth, into oblivion, leaving nothing but memories to remember it by. Just to confirm that it had indeed existed. He now chose to push aside those blissful images and fight for what was important to him in the present time, and future.

His resoluteness only magnified as the kunai clashed with his Tetsusaiga, causing the birth of a sharp, metal sound, reverberating through the trees. Knowing he could out outpower Kagome in terms of strength, he directed more vigor into his upper body, naïvely unable to foresee how she would counteract that.

Having known he would do such a thing, as Inuyasha had always relied on brute force, Kagome pulled back her right leg, and sending a huge proportion of all the chakra in her body towards that specific limb, swiftly swung it sideways, delivering a sharp and heavy kick to the back of Inuyasha's calves, right underneath his knees. He momentarily lost his heavy balance and collapsed on one side, and unwilling to waste the opportunity, the woman pocketed her weapon and leapt back, forming several hand seals in the blink of an eye.

Kagome sharply announced, "Raiton: Hibana no Same! (Lightning Release: Quick Flash of the Shark)"

Upon her beck and call, behind her a mass of yellow thunder formed, summoning a gang of ferocious golden sharks, the electricity flying out from their masses and frying anything that was in the way. _Zzzt_. A stray bolt shot out over Inuyasha's head, striking the bark of an enormous tree behind him and destroying a large portion of its middle support with an ominous _crack_, causing it to fall forward towards the Waterfall ninja, who swiftly turned to see what was going on and vaulted away so he wouldn't be squashed.

"_DIE_!" Kagome bellowed, a crazed glint in her eyes as she grinned maliciously.

Roaring, the dangerous creatures of the abyss, having come alive in the manifestation of the woman's personal technique, charged forward, as many as five, all at once. Their tails fluttered vigorously from left to right as they stormed in for the kill, jaws wide open and anxious to tear into human meat.

A great crater was formed as one of the hefty monsters plunged towards Inuyasha, who barely dodged it, causing it to be a sacrifice and blow up on contact with the ground. Finding an opportunity, Kagome wordlessly bid her sharks to do as she saw fit, her firm hand seal providing complete control over their otherwise troublesome movements. She made a second one follow the same fate of the first, as well as another, making sure the silver-haired man would find no peaceful landing and have time to react with an attack of his own.

Thinking he knew the pattern she was displaying, even though it was done purposely to trick him, the unknowing man proceeded to continue his evasion, unaware of the final shark that came at him from the back, working together in compromise with the one dashing before him in the front. From both the monsters, two new replacements were borne, and immediately took positions to help surround Inuyasha from all four directions, coming left and right; north and south.

He thought he could lead the technique to end in a miss, and took the chance to jump high up onto a sturdy tree branch. However, the shaky plan was officially laid to ruin when the beasts stopped a split-second before colliding into a large mess with one another, and turned upwards, streaking through the air with mighty cries as if they had invisible wings. They finally made direct contact with the human target, who yelled ("_Shit_!") before getting enveloped in a rumbling blast, the impact excruciatingly overwhelming. A flash of light passed through the whole area, before clearing away ten seconds later.

When it was safe to open his eyes without fearing optical damage from the brightness, Deidara did as such, and turned his head back to the scene.

It was over already.

Inuyasha grit his teeth, feeling pathetically hopeless as the damnable woman before him loomed over his freshly tattered form, a derisive expression on her face. Giving him not a moment's breath to relax, she immediately pinned his feet to the floor by stabbing them through accurately with two kunai, holding them in place where she desired. The man bit his lower lip, a groan of pain wanting to be released from his throat. He glared at the kunoichi with hatred, and glanced over to his abandoned Tetsusaiga, which was planted into the dirt a few feet away.

Knowing that even now the man's main ambitions were to continue fighting no matter how many bones he were to break, Kagome raised her foot, and stamped it down hard on his already bleeding chest, eliciting a deep gasp as she knocked the air out of him. She repeated the action, this time with more harshness and brutality, effortlessly concentrating all her chakra on the bottom of her foot, receiving a more intense response as she easily broke one of Inuyasha's ribs.

"Look at me," she commanded, pulling down her onyx, red-lined collar so as to reveal her entire countenance. "Not a single scratch on my face. You're pathetic. Just like back then, you're _still_ beneath me. It's a shame you possess a powerful sword, as it's wasted on you…Inuyasha."

"Wench, don't preach about what's pathetic to me, when you obviously haven't been in front of a mirror for the longest time," the man snarled defiantly, despite knowing he was practically asking for more rough handling.

Haughtily raising her head while continuing to stare down condescendingly at the Waterfall shinobi with her dark, emotionless eyes, Kagome regarded him once before slamming the bottom of her foot down ruthlessly on his nose. Inuyasha moaned in pain, the fine muscles torn and broken; warm blood rushing inside his open mouth and painting his lips crimson. "Don't speak back to me, you lowly mutt." She drove her ninja sandal in, intensifying the male's suffering and getting his sticky putrid liquid on her footwear. "I am your superior." Her voice was devoid of all feelings, even as she spoke the cruel words; things, that the old Kagome would have never told anyone.

"Wrap this up soon. Leader-sama is impatient, un," Deidara coolly informed the woman from the side.

As though it were her nonverbal reply, the kunoichi formed another set of hand seals. "Raiton: Tsuranuku Yari. (Lightning Release: Penetrating Lance)" Once she lifted her right hand back over her head and had the palm facing up, a small orb of electricity came into existence. In no time at all it developed into a full-length, four foot-long spear, crackling dangerously with the potent energy that allowed it to be birthed. She gripped it firmly, pointing the noisily humming tip downwards at her old friend. "Farewell, Inuyasha."

He shut his fuming amber orbs, preparing for death. But it never came.

A small rustling in the bushes did not escape Kagome's ears, nor the ones of the clay bomb master. Both pairs of acute eyes darted to the source of the noise, and immediately with her fast reflexes, Kagome chucked her glowing weapon in the appropriate direction. The vague vision of four bodies moving nimbly to avoid the technique, with the speed only experienced shinobi possessed, flashed for a brief moment before another deafening blare occupied the hearing of all in the vicinity; another patch of land met with destruction, credits to the jutsu.

"Inuyasha-sama!" Myouga the flea cried passionately, perched upon its firm throne of red flowers knitted on a kimono. He was about to hop over to his bloody summoner until he caught sight of the woman standing next to the body. Shuddering, the creature whispered, "…it's you—"

"Higurashi Kagome," Sesshoumaru enunciated, his tone growing even more hateful by the second, "the walking disgrace, of Takigakure." Myouga, who stood upon the older silver-haired brother's shoulder, took careful refuge behind the man's neck.

Kagome narrowed her eyes, glaring at the group of three she remembered clearly—_wait_, there had been four.

"Behind you!" Deidara alerted her, just in time as she heeded the warning, and pivoting with her foot to spin around, drew her kunai, ready to block the oncoming ambush.

Her jaws clenched as the monstrous blade she recalled named Banryuu collided relentlessly with her weapon, which was pathetic in comparison of size. To further exemplify the proof of that, a crack formed in the middle depth of her kunai, and a vibration ran through her body; the man's sheer power combined with his halberd, devastating. For a quick second the kunoichi looked directly into the eyes of Shichinintai Bankotsu, his handsome countenance sneering at her.

She instantly jolted back to stand at Deidara's side, who was already discreetly preparing more clay.

Examining the fivesome before her, and then the now ruined kunai she still possessed, Kagome deemed the latter no longer worthy, and sent it hurling towards the defeated Inuyasha's barely breathing form, with an expertly fine flick of her wrist. Matching up with her and displaying his impressive speed, Bankotsu deflected the ninja weapon with the flat surface of his sword, which had instantly risen to protect its owner's comrade.

"You actually meant to kill him," the tanned shinobi spat, expressing his disgust. "You really are no longer our Kagome."

The apathetic kunoichi simply lifted her chin even higher, inspecting the mini-crowd in front of her, all of them directing passionate looks towards her; ranging from absolute loathing, to disbelief, and determination, as well as sorrow. Taisho Sesshoumaru, still wearing that favorite kimono of his along with the heavy armor, creating the image of a sophisticated warrior; Houshi Miroku, the handsome product of mixing the colors violet and black, carrying gentle but resolute eyes; Tajiya Sango, a large summoning scroll unraveled in her grasp, ready to call forth Hiraikotsu; the fatally wounded, crimson-clad Inuyasha; and Bankotsu, before her. None of them had changed, the cores of all their persona were still the exact same.

"So the group is all here, minus one," Kagome commented nonchalantly.

Deidara raised a thin brow, eyeing the many forehead protectors before him, the sign of the Waterfall proudly inscribed on every single one. "Friends of yours?"

"No," the woman answered uninterestedly, "just old acquaintances."

Upon hearing her frigid answer, a few of them—Sango especially—appeared to have been hurt, and flinched slightly. However just as well, their determination to fight grew even larger in size and became stronger, being convinced a tad more that the female before them was just a shell of the cheerful, genial girl she had once been long ago.

"Kagome, just stop this, please," Miroku pleaded, stepping forward to beg of her, the rings on his staff jingling in unison. "We don't wish to hurt you, nor fight with you. All we desire is seeing Kikyou's safe return to our village." Agreeing entirely with the man, Sango couldn't help but nod.

Snorting contemptuously at the pitiful display, Deidara remarked, "None of you, will be getting your hands on the Goubi's jinchuuriki. She's already set up to be extracted of the beast, un."

Sesshoumaru dismissed both his dark-haired allies with a wave of his hand, disgusted with the male's reasoning, even now trying in a vain attempt to resort to peace rather than combat; and his woman who supported him. He pulled out Kikyou's gleaming sword from the temporary sheath he had created for it, the blade glowing an angry hue of dark blue. It was telling him through its powerful aura, that it wished to avenge the downfall of its master, and instructing him to use its power just this once.

He saw Kagome's attention switch over to him and the item, momentarily studying its seemingly new, surrounding atmosphere before confirming mentally to herself that it was indeed her older sister's. It seemed to have a mind of its own, not unlike Samehada, Tetsusaiga and Bakusaiga.

"So who's the blonde guy—your new boyfriend?" Bankotsu asked casually, seeking an opening to strike. He brandished his halberd, sending the hidden message to his teammates, who comprehended it.

Before the woman could come up with a cutting retort, Deidara interrupted her, his baritone voice marginally deeper than usual, "_Aa._ That's right." The fingers of his fisted hands were traveling up and down like timely ocean waves, surreptitiously molding the hidden material inside his palms. He chanced a glance to Kagome, who was staring at him from the corner of her eyes, not with chafe as she would have normally to his sly comment, but a covert _signal_.

Then in the matter of seconds, the whole area went straight to hell, and even deeper below.

"Miroku, Sango, tend to Inuyasha's wounds," Sesshoumaru ordered, rushing forth in a burst of surprising speed, the sword in his grasp giving him an even greater subconscious urge to fight. Once he was in front of the duo, he swung the blade horizontally, trying to cut them in half; handling the weapon with better swordsman expertise than Kikyou ever had.

Deidara immediately dropped to his feet, avoiding a bitter end, and Kagome had performed several swift back flips, spinning mid-air during the last one before landing a safe distance away. In that moment while Sesshoumaru was still completing his full swing, the blonde instantly hurled the battle-ready figurines in his hands forward, towards the two people in the back, attempting to cleanly pull out the twin kunai that held Inuyasha's feet in place. The tiny pieces of art transformed into larger versions in a simple mere second, emitting menacing sounds as they determinedly shot ahead towards their human prey.

"KATSU!"

The sound of several explosions boomed from behind, but Sesshoumaru dared not avert his eyes from the blonde below him, and unleashed a hard kick on his vulnerable form. The latter defended himself by crossing his arms together in an "X" at the appropriate time, receiving only partial damage and staying put in his spot, gritting his teeth as the impact caused an unpleasant trembling to travel throughout the bones in his body.

Kagome's shout came from the side, "Suiton: Teppoudama! (Water Release: Water Bullet)" Her cheeks momentarily bulged with what was whirling powerfully inside her mouth, before she spewed the such. A powerful shot of water sped towards Sesshoumaru's form, at an altitude barely higher than the blonde's head, to make sure it would not injure the latter. The silver-haired male quickly sidestepped the attack, and the mighty sphere of liquid went on a straight-path rampage through tall plants and trees, mercilessly tearing apart the greenery that dared to stand in its way until it disappeared from view.

As his golden-eyed companion's position shifted, Bankotsu sprang forth in his stead, forming hand seals while holding the behemoth that was his sword between the crook of his forearm, leaning it against his shoulder. "Suiton: Gōsuiwan no Jutsu! (Water Release: Great Water Arm)" Then he took hold of his ginormous sword and jumped up into the sky, the sun blinding everyone from his masculine figure bloating up more, as he came down from the high atmosphere with the fierce intent to strike Kagome.

The moment he did, his sword slid harmlessly through her, the kunoichi's body turning to water; a clone. The result of Banryuu's immediate contact with the earthen ground was devastating, and it split the crusty floors in half for miles, as if a ground shattering earthquake were taking place. Animals in the farther vicinity, sensing the impending doom, fled without hesitation, and birds departed from their no longer safe trees.

"It seems you've developed that move," Kagome commented from farther up ahead, her eyes hiding the uneasiness she held. Her vision was fixed on the now bulkier version of Bankotsu's arms, inflated by a powerful mixture of chakra and water. If she got hit once by Banryuu, it would all be over. "Very nice."

It was dangerous to keep fighting, she could feel the recently closed tear in her stomach slowly starting to rip through again. But she had no choice but to keep her cool façade in place, lest Sesshoumaru and Bankotsu become aware of her weakness and successfully overcome her. Scanning behind the two, she noticed Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha's combined absences, nowhere to be seen, alive or dead.

Deidara appeared beside her, facing the duo of weapon-wielding men. He released an annoyed "tch" under his breath. All that was required was a little more time, before their comrades would surely take notice of the unnatural happenings outside of the base. They were right on the borderline between the Grass and Rain; the Leader should have known by now with his supernatural sensory abilities that there was a raucous going on outside.

The blonde's eyes narrowed, contemplating his next move; there was no way he could take down the formidable shinobi without at least being able to safely gain flight in secret. He braced himself, seeing the silver-haired male perform hand seals with a swiftness that made it nearly impossible to read the signs.

"Katon: Hōenka! (Fire Release: Flame Flower)" Sesshoumaru went airborne up into the sky, two elegant fingers next to his lips as he blew out three giant balls, scorching threateningly as they drew near to the Akatsuki duo. From behind them Bankotsu's bulky image came alive, releasing a battle cry as he went in for the ultimate kill. From above, having survived Deidara's explosions and snuck out of hiding, an unexpected brunette kunoichi tilted her head back, following the hazardous motion of her sizable boomerang, before swinging it downwards ("GO, HIRAIKOTSU!").

_Fuck_! What were they gonna—?

"Suiton: Nensuikai (Water Release: Water Shield Shot)," interjected a composed male from higher ground, causing all the fighters below to watch in a seemingly slow motion as a colossal figure donning an Akatsuki cloak dropped in, conveniently before Kagome and Deidara, summoning an ultimate shield of water that stretched to cover all three of them, with a single blue hand.

Sesshoumaru's fire technique was tamed by the equally strong water defense, which absorbed the flames and gave off a _sizzle_, evaporating the heat into the air. Hiraikotsu and Banryuu both produced a dull _clank_ as they hit the aquatic barrier, Bankotsu giving all his strength to try and crack the freshly introduced mechanism.

"An impressive sword you've got there," Hoshigaki Kisame complimented. "It must take a lot of power to wield it efficiently." He put forth force into the water barrier, and pushed back against the attacks, throwing back Hiraikotsu to Sango, and leaving Bankotsu with only the choice to leap back.

"You seem to know your stuff," the tanned Waterfall ninja replied, eyeing Samehada which was strapped to the Akatsuki member's massive back.

A dark smirk formed on Kisame's face. "It'll be fun to see who's the better swordsman," the ex-Mist ninja said promisingly, as he allowed the barrier to fall at his feet, forming a puddle of water that had once served purpose.

"Enough, Kisame, we did not come to talk," spoke a man, possibly the superior of the shark-like shinobi.

Every set of eyes averted to the top of the hill next, where the blue ninja had sprung down from, two others uniformed like himself standing on top. Sesshoumaru's golden orbs narrowed, recognizing the one who had spoken as the infamous Uchiha Itachi of Konoha from the Bingo Book. He was unaware of the second individual's identity, as all he had to show was spiky black hair and a swirly orange mask concealing the details of his true appearance.

"Oho, so this is what's been causing all the noise! Senpai! You're not hurt, are you?" shrieked the male standing beside the ex-Leaf ninja, waving towards Deidara.

"Shut the hell up, Tobi!" the blonde barked, a vein popping on his forehead.

The exchange of dialogues ceased as once again, chaos broke out between all the others. Kisame and Bankotsu both drew their enormous swords, facing each other with analytical stares. Itachi disappeared from his position and reappeared next to Sesshoumaru, the two of them having drawn weapons in that very instant, now clashing. Miroku rushed to attack Tobi, having jumped out of hiding where he had safely placed Inuyasha, where the wounded man would not be touched by the fighting. Sango joined her lover's attempt by deftly swinging Hiraikotsu with a cry towards the masked shinobi.

"Woah, woah!" the ninja with the disguised visage exclaimed, performing a hurried back flip to avoid the physical manifestation of the brunette's wrath. Having missed by a few inches, the weapon spun back to its owner, and as it were now his turn, Miroku sprang forth with his staff, throwing heavy swings at his opponent's way. "Easy there!"

After having pushed Tobi to the spot that the dark-haired man desired, he made swift hand seals and jumped back besides Sango. "Mokuton: Shichūrō no Jutsu! (Wood Release: Four Pillars Prison Technique)" Immediately, the masked shinobi was trapped inside a large cage of timber, and helplessly gripped the vertical bars that were too close in between to allow him to slip out.

"This is unfair!" the locked-in ninja wailed from behind his prison. "Help, Deidara-senpai!"

"You're as useless as ever, un!" the blonde shouted from a fair distance away, holding onto Kagome's arm with one hand while with the other he formulated new clay animals. She appeared to have trouble standing straight, and was sweating profusely, clutching onto her irritated stomach, although she was fine not too long ago. Gritting her teeth, when she pulled her fingers back from the insides of her cloak, they were tipped prettily with blood. The injury on her abdomen had chosen now to open back up, aggravated from the stress being put on the body and the constant flaring and dipping of chakra within it.

While Bankotsu and Sesshoumaru were getting more than a filling's worth of combat from Itachi and Kisame, they hadn't missed the image of the weakened kunoichi from their peripheral vision. Neither had Miroku and Sango, who nodded to each other, several emotions in their eyes. They double checked the former's wooden technique to make sure it would not fail to hold in the mysterious, orange mask wearing man, before making their decisive moves.

"Keep your eyes on me, swordsman," Kisame told his opponent, watching the flicker of cerulean eyes. "One wrong move and Samehada will rip you apart." The two of them tested their equally mighty strengths against one other, pushing all the powers each of them had into the blades of their weapons, unwilling to break in the extreme competition.

Bankotsu smirked. "No need to worry, Banryuu's more than enough for your Samehada." With that the tanned shinobi broke their contact and jumped to the side, trying to initiate a surprise move.

"Not so fast!" the shark-man growled.

—

In the near vicinity there was another battle heatedly ensuing.

"So that is the famed Sharingan," Sesshoumaru noted, watching with mild interest as the crimson eyes of his enemy developed tomoes, getting ready to most likely catch him in a fatal genjutsu. He had sheathed Kikyou's sword in favor of switching over to his own main weapon: Bakusaiga.

Whether he would get cornered into a dangerous deception or not, it may not have mattered, because the Waterfall Jounin was more than adept in the department regarding intelligence, and canceling and seeing through the guise of such types of moves. Just as well, he had another secret: his _counter_ to the Sharingan. As though summoned by his thoughts, the golden eyes of the man matured and became more sinister; the color now tainted with a deep, bleeding red; his pupils turned green. Now the silver-haired male appeared more like a beautiful monster than a human.

"You are Taisho Sesshoumaru," Itachi conceded in return, finding the man worthy of commendation, "the one shinobi who cannot be brought down with genjutsu." The Akatsuki member drew his weapons, ready to engage in a competition of brute power, wit, and swiftness, as well as varieties of ninjutsu.

"Your eyes will be of little use in this battle, Uchiha," Sesshoumaru warned, his voice equally stoic.

Itachi narrowed his eyes; if genjutsu would prove to be impractical, the only powerful options he had left were Amaterasu and Susanoo, which he was not willing to use lest they be absolutely necessary. His vision and health were already in decline, there was no need to quicken the process; he would not allow his body to fail completely until he accomplished a certain task in mind. Though, from what he knew of the Waterfall Jounin and his far-spread reputation, he may have had to end up doing so, possibly. For now, he would have to rely upon his excellent shinobi skills that carried no relation to his Mangekyō Sharingan. What he could still do at least with his eyes were to counter taijutsu, and copy the silver-haired man's complex techniques, should he possess any.

After a split-second of both men performing hand seals, they echoed simultaneously: "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)" and "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)" The area between them burst into a flurry of perilous flames, engulfing all near wildlife that surrounded it and reducing them to ashes.

—

Deidara leapt back, his kunoichi companion hung over his shoulder, her blood seeping through her cloak and onto the fabric covering his shoulder; barely noticeable on the black. His azure eyes switched back and forth from the Waterfall ninjas before him, the brunette one ready to strike again with her chakra-infused boomerang, and the male prepared to support her.

"Leave…me," Kagome croaked from his back. "You can…get a chance—take flight…"

He ignored her annoying suggestion, formulating a plan in his head. If he had enough prepared clay he could hurl bombs at the duo in front of him, providing them with an ample distraction while also giving birth to an artificial bird, that would fly him and his companion away to safety. But he was empty-handed and did not have what was necessary at the moment, whilst being subjected to dodging full-blown, simultaneous attacks being unleashed upon him with indomitable fury. The small amount he had made earlier had already been used, in an attempt to surprise the Waterfall shinobi and kunoichi, and create an opening for Kagome to attack—though it was at that second she coincidentally decided she couldn't stand straight anymore.

He felt her wriggle in his grasp, but he only reinforced his hold, silently commanding her to stay put.

"Deidara-senpai!" called Tobi, choosing that moment to show up in between the four, two of whom being startled by his reintroduced presence.

"H-how…?" Miroku asked incredulously, shooting a glance towards his wooden prison a fair distance away, finding it unbroken and perfectly in built pieces like he had left it before. He stared at Tobi with skepticism (_That strange shinobi has more to him underneath than he let's show_). Through a shared look between each other, he could tell Sango was thinking the same thing.

Deidara growled, "Help us Tobi!"

"Haaai!" the subordinate squeaked, raising an enthusiastic arm.

It was at that moment when coincidentally, Kisame was pushed back by Bankotsu's fierce assault, towards the group of three Akatsuki members, and Itachi as well, having been lead there by Sesshoumaru. The five S-class rogue ninjas were all gathered together in a single spot, a perfect opportunity for an attack that could engulf all of them within seconds.

"Miroku!" Sesshoumaru exclaimed, signaling what must have been their group's final resort.

Unable to hesitate anymore due to past feelings he had held for his friend who was now a criminal, after seeing just how dangerous the band she had joined was, Miroku nodded firmly and pushed his kunoichi ally behind him, ensuring her safety. Then he outstretched his open palm towards the cluster of shinobi who were watching him with interest and suspicion, ready to evade or block the second he started performing hand seals.

Bankotsu and Sesshoumaru immediately flew back to stand behind their ally, and Itachi and Kisame shared hidden glances towards one another, implying they should relocate as well. Whatever was about to happen, they would most likely do good to avoid the path it chose.

In a fluid motion, Miroku unraveled the beads hiding away what laid underneath in his palm, and roared, "_KAZAANA_!"

Itachi and Kisame were able to avoid the powerful sucking sensation in the nick of time as having already planned to escape, and leapt a far distance away, insensibly leaving their teammates Deidara, Kagome and Tobi to fend for themselves. The swirly mask wearing member flew straight into the pitch black vortex, shrieking in horror ("_SENPAAAAI!_"). No one was able to see if the male's body was completely absorbed into the treacherous cyclone, but assumed it were as his terrified cry instantly quieted. Unfazed by the incident of his subordinate's apparent death, but concerned for his life as well as of the woman's who he currently held onto with a death-grip, the blonde's eyes were wide.

_What the hell is that? _He gazed into the shrouded depths emerging from the Waterfall ninja's palm, all his other comrades fanned out safely behind him; Itachi and Kisame nowhere to be found. In this situation it didn't appear as though they would be able to assist his escape either, without being dragged into the perilous depths as soon as they came into range.

Deidara's hand was latched onto the thick branch of a nearby tree with all his might; his other one determinedly clutching Kagome's, who was further ahead into possible danger than he was. He had barely caught onto her at the last second, when Miroku had unraveled his prayer beads and the starting winds had began lifting up the female from his shoulder.

The wielder of such a dangerous technique slightly faltered on his feet, the toll he was forced to take every time he used Kazaana rather overwhelming. He hoped he wouldn't have to hold it up for too long; he had already disposed of one Akatsuki member, now two more were left. He bit the end of his tongue from inside his mouth, pushing away the depressing thoughts of the old Higurashi Kagome, and how he was now entrusted with the duty of disposing her.

Sesshoumaru placed a strong hand on the man's shoulder from behind him, gripping tightly, encouraging him, "Push yourself. We almost have her." In response, he saw Miroku's eyes hardened and he willed himself to renew his mental capacity. There was no choice other than this; the mistake Takigakure had unintentionally bred, had to be erased from existence.

Up ahead, there was another form of toiling taking place.

"Let go of me," Kagome commanded, head down, biting her lower lip.

"Stop being fucking stupid, un!" the blonde man holding onto her snapped. Something she had said the night prior rang in his mind: _If…anything bad happens, just save yourself_. Like hell, was he going to listen to that. He was becoming effectively annoyed with her constant suggestions of leaving her behind, or letting her go into a damn hole of destruction by herself, and just about every other way she was acting the past few days.

"_You _stop being _fucking stupid_!" the kunoichi retorted sharply, almost yelling as she glared up at her recent partner, frustrated.

He was slightly taken aback by her choice of language, as she hardly ever chose to use obscene words. Even though, he knew it was the wrongest time to ponder on such a trivial issue.

She continued, trying to persuade him into being rational, hissing, "Do you want to survive, or die an unnecessary death?"

Deidara's grip on her hand tightened, hearing a slight _crack_ as the branch he held on to was close to giving away. The winds of Kazaana grew louder and more violent, impatient with how long it was taking to swallow up a pair of simple shinobi; directing its irritation upon the user, who flinched once more as a sharp pain traveled throughout his body, though he refused to let up.

Scowling, the blonde averted his gaze from Kagome's, angrily.

Then reluctant, he told her something in his deep baritone voice.

Something that _no one else_ could hear besides the two of them, over the howling gales of Kazaana, which was growing even stronger by the second.

Another fine _crack_ from the branch. Deidara's grip on it tightened, so strongly that his knuckles whitened.

After digesting what he had just said, a secret sentence shared between only the two of them, Kagome's surprised eyes widened, slowly; an unreadable emotion present within them. Then, she closed her chocolate orbs, and lifted her head back, proceeding to laugh bitterly to herself as the violent winds of Miroku's kekkei genkai forcefully persuaded her locks of hair to turn in its direction. Unseeable hands latched on greedily to her airborne legs and pulled stubbornly, beckoning her forward into the frightful abyss.

The kunoichi reached up into her sapphire-colored hair, and plucked the white rose that was situated on the side of it. She lifted her gaze to Deidara, and held the blossom out from her outstretched arm before him, as an elegant display on her palm. Several petals were held securely between her fingers so as to prevent the whole object's flying away and getting sucked into Kazaana along with everything else.

"Arigatou, Deidara," she whispered, an extraordinary smile—a _real_ one—on her face; appreciative.

_Crack_. It was just about ready to break now, in the matter of half a minute or less.

"What are you—?"

"…sayonara…"

The beautiful flower shape-shifted into a pure white kunai, and without hesitation Kagome reinforced her grip on it and heroically stabbed the lower forearm of the man who had just disclosed a shocking, yet warm, revelation to her. Regardless of being run through with the sharp blade, he refused to relinquish his hold on her, and having expected such a stubbornness, she ground the weapon in his flesh, side-to-side and deeply in order to make it extra painful.

It all happened in seconds.

Done in by the agonizing sensation, before he knew it Deidara was forced to release his death-hold on the kunoichi. Then after realizing what she had just done, he watched with incredulous eyes as she was sucked into the vortex, her hand reaching out towards his form, a smug look on her face even as she were inches away from death.

Then she was gone.

The harsh winds stopped, just as his tree branch had been about to shatter into pieces. And he landed on his stiff legs, trying to register what had happened just now. Blood dripped from his right arm, down to his hand with a ringing pain, and onto the ground in fine blobs; the white kunai dematerializing into an unidentifiable white substance, before transforming back into a beautiful blossom and falling gracefully at his feet.

Kazaana had at last disappeared, and taken Kagome with it—all traces eradicated, as if she had never been here in the first place. Just like _that_, she was now…

…dead.

Just like that…she had…_died_.

Without realizing it his breathing became roughly uneven, as the sight of the man in purple and black became the main focus of his attention, unable to control the overwhelming, boiling sensation invading his mind. He wanted to blow shit up _now_, not for the artistic satisfaction he usually gained from doing so—_no,_ he wanted to rip that man _apart_, in the _slowest,_ most excruciating way; to drown him in a sea of his micro-spiders, which would not cause an explosion big enough to kill him, but to torture the shinobi and sever his limbs, yes.

Better yet he wanted to blow up the whole fucking _area_.

Deidara subconsciously reached into the pouch that contained his most dangerous, destructive clay: his C3 version. He wasn't even thinking straight at the moment, and that was proven true when Itachi suddenly reappeared along with Kisame, placing a firm grip on his forearm, silently ordering him to cease his imprudent actions.

Up ahead, Miroku was panting, down to his knees and clutching onto his right arm, feeling great physical misery. He tried to save Kazaana for emergencies because it was a double-bladed jutsu, for both him and the people of his clan. It was indeed powerful and had amazing capabilities, but at the same time, the more often you used it, the wider it would grow on the palm of your hands.

Out of all the deceased Houshi in the history, most of them had died from overtaxing themselves with the technique. At times they were sent out to the front lines of a decisive battle, and pressured with higher commands, to not stop their devastating attack until all enemy lines were fully cleared. Those superiors never did become aware of the Kazaana's deadly truth until they eventually lost a shinobi of the Houshi clan to it in battle.

"Miroku!" the brunette kunoichi exclaimed, kneeling down to support his fallen form; tears in her eyes from having watched Kagome's final and necessary demise. She guided him in putting his arm around her shoulders, lifting him up, while Bankotsu and Sesshoumaru retook their stances before them both, weapons ready.

Deidara knelt down and retrieved the abandoned flower, which seemed to weep with a dark glow, as it was now parted from its rightful owner. His azure eyes, filled with fury, gazed upon the group of Waterfall ninjas. His hand closed over the blossom, and shut tight in his anger, almost destroying the magnificent memento left behind by Kagome.

Bodies met, weapons clashed dangerously; the woman clung onto her lover, trying to help him move out of the battle field; the blonde wordlessly reached inside his clay pouch.

He would not permit that dark-haired man's retreat…instead, he would claim his life for himself, without fail. His revenge.

—

Inuyasha crawled over to the body that lay motionless on the dim floor, his eyes hazy and rapidly losing their once brilliant luster; his body, covered in a blood-soaked outfit, teetering precariously. Blood marked the path he traveled on with all fours; starting at the feet of a plant-like man with a Venus fly trap emerging from the top of his Akatsuki cloak, and continuing as he steadily went farther towards his destination. He knew he wouldn't last much longer in his fatally wounded state, but it mattered not to him, as long as he—

"Kikyou…" the man murmured remorsefully, taking in the heartbreaking sight that laid before him. Tears sprang to his eyes, as the only person he would ever shed them for lay on her back, missing her legs and looking wan, rather than beautifully pale as she usually did. Her face did not have the peaceful, serene look it always possessed, which he had often seen whenever he loyally watched over her and found her sleep. No…it appeared dead. Her chest rose very faintly, showing she still had the faintest sparks of life, but barely any left; having enough remains just so Akatsuki could do what they wished with her.

Higurashi Kagome had been right—the woman was already _dead_.

"I'm sorry…" Inuyasha whispered sorrowfully, forcing the heavy words to slip out through his teeth, his bangs covering his wet eyes. "I couldn't protect you…Kikyou…"

From the distance, Zetsu watched with moderate interest as the wholly defeated man mourned over what he assumed was his lover. He had found him on the battleground when the Leader had sent for him and the other remaining Akatsuki members to go check out what was going on with all the noises and explosions that insinuated combat taking place outside. He had studied the interactions of his comrades and enemies from afar, and had picked up the intoxicating scent of blood while he did. Following his acute nose, he had come across the dying silver-haired male, who had apparently been put in his safe position by an ally of his.

He had then prepared to voicelessly capture the fallen warrior in the plant portion of his strange body, and devour him alive. But it was then that the bold shinobi had gripped the fabric of his cloak and pulled it down, demanding his attention. He had told him that he knew he wouldn't live, and he "didn't give a shit" for what happened to him after, but that he had one last request.

Zetsu didn't know why he had complied to the man's last wish; perhaps because the latter had seemed so pitiful to him, laying immobile on his back with a destroyed nose, blood covering him everywhere from head to toe, and his amber eyes (which he presumed had once been full of life) fading away into nothingness—yet, despite all that, he had asked if he could just see the Goubi's jinchuuriki once more. That he wouldn't care what befell him after that; whether he was tortured for information or kept as a captive. Both halves—good _and_ bad—of the plant-like shinobi criminal had found it interesting in a twisted way, and the oddest of aspects, so he had agreed to it. The fool was to be his next meal anyway, and looked rather appetizing; it wouldn't hurt to reward him with something petty before he made acquaintances with the insides of his stomach.

Poised footsteps reached his ears, interrupting his train of thought.

It was then that the crimson-clad male was impaled by an onyx-colored metal sphere, directly in the heart, and shuddered violently with a husky, final gasp ("…_Kikyou_…") before falling completely to the floor to embrace Death. The golden orbs fixed at the top half of his face were now totally drained of life, the paths of prior tears apparent on his cheeks; a single conclusive trail, falling from his vacant right eye as the ultimate goodbye. He died holding onto the cold, unmoving hand of the woman he treasured and loved.

"Zetsu," came a deep, reproaching voice, "I thought I made myself clear the first time…you are _not_ to let prey wander inside the hideout."

—

A barely conscious woman drifted through never-ending darkness, having absolutely no control over her movements. Without even a meager amount of chakra available to be set aside for her appearance altering jutsu, her blue tresses had returned to their natural color: dark ebony. She felt and desired nothing, and was at peace with herself—yet also eventually realized this was not the realm of the dead, taking in her current situation. Her mind was hazy, about to burst with all the insane recurrences of recent events. It then called forth older recollections, showing her through closed eyes various randomly timed memories.

Of Akatsuki.

_It had been raining heavily that day when he appeared, with his intimidating Rinnegan seeming to analyze her soul through her frightened eyes, offering her a place where he believed she belonged. He outstretched an encouraging hand towards her fallen form, and she timidly grasped it, taken in by the promising words he spoke._ _The sun began to rise, despite the precipitation's unwillingness to leave, creating a paradoxical, yet lovely combination of weather. It was fitting._

The Leader.

_She watched a silver-haired man, his chest bared immodestly, having a quarrel with his partner, a male who revealed nothing except for his menacing, green eyes. To her shock the latter actually ran a hand through his companion's stomach, seething from anger. The Jashinist, (that's what he called himself) instead of being fearful for his very life, merely continued yelling obscenities at the other man. _

Hidan and Kakuzu.

_The Samehada-wielding ex-Mist shinobi stood next to the Uchiha, who she was currently watching, unaware that he already knew of her secret gaze. She couldn't help but think that he was not unlike her, in what they had both done, in betraying those that were once considered important to them. They had both severed the ties they held dear back in their originating village, due to the desire of wanting to seek more; find more. All was quiet in the surrounding, aside from the sickeningly bizarre sound of their plant-like comrade downing his current meal, freshly attained. _

Kisame, Itachi and Zetsu.

_It had surprised her when she first found out "Hiruko" was not his actual body, and the real one was inside of it. Later she wondered why he chose to be stuck with the image of a teenager, and asked him. Then she had boldly proceeded to question him further, 'You made yourself into a puppet, stowing away your weaknesses as well as your humanity. Everyone will die, while you exist and watch them pass on. Why did you chose to be lonely?' He must have been aggravated by her blunt curiosity, for he called her an ignorant brat, and demanded she leave him alone._

Sasori.

_They both panted perversely, losing themselves in juvenile ecstasy and momentarily forgetting the merciless world of shinobi, along with its undeniable cruelties. There was no love involved, they were just two overwhelmed teenagers experimenting with what they could, wanting to enjoy what was possible, before being sent out on another mission to kill like the adults they had yet to become. A seductive sound escaped from her throat, and her eyes misted over with pleasure, a look that in all honesty, should have been saved and held aside for a man she loved with all her heart. Instead she allowed the young blonde to claim it all for himself, and he relished it. There would never be "love" for either of them, whether they waited for it or not: they were mercenaries that went by the title of Akatsuki. There was nothing but death and destruction in their futures. It wouldn't be a terrible crime in comparison to commit a mild sin such as lust, just a single time._

_Deidara_.

As the reminiscent thoughts went away, a bright light formed in the bottomless darkness, its presence making itself known through Kagome's closed eyes. She was soon granted divine permission to open them, and weary, chocolate orbs stared ahead at what had come into existence before them. Hand trembling weakly, she reached out, desiring to make physical contact with the message of hope. The illumination glinted off the metal of her Akatsuki ring. She refused to give up the flare of her life so soon; she was not ready to accept Death with open arms, just yet.

"I want…to live…"

* * *

**Chapter Six: Rotation of the Terrestrial Globe**

* * *

"Mama, my heart hurts…so much. How do I make the bad feelings go away?"

The answer was given saturninely. "You forget them like me, dear."

"But I can't…so what should I do?"

"You _forget_."

A sullen, uneasy silence claimed dominance, and the world seemingly stilled in quietude. Sneaking in through the tiny cracks of a nearby olden window, was a blithe melody composed by songbirds from the outside. After some time the woman's taut expression loosened, and she fixated her renewed gaze on the child before her. With blankness she stared into tense brown orbs, hardly unlike her own, merely younger and having seen less of the ruthless world's corruptions. She spoke again, this time with an angelically mellifluous and concerned tone, the bitterness present minutes ago having already dispersed. "Who are you, little girl?" Her bewilderment was genuine as she truly wondered how and when her unexpected guest had entered the modest room.

There was a shaky intake of breath and then a faint, pleading cry, "Stop, no more…it scares me…"

She blinked, befuddled. "Why are you crying, sweetie? Are you upset?"

"…M-Mama…please _stop_."

Higurashi Kagome, a child of eleven autumns and recently promoted genin of Takigakure, ground her teeth in a futile attempt to reign hold over her torrential emotions. She was denied the gratification of maintaining control, and rivulets of tears sped down her worrisomely pallid cheeks. The fists stationed at her sides trembled, and she had to force herself in shutting her eyelids closed. For her it would've been an absolute alleviation to spontaneously go blind in that oppressive moment. She didn't wish to see _any_thing anymore. It was all becoming too much and she was fed up, with her heart and hopes crushed mercilessly yet again; simultaneously ripped asunder.

In front of her was a confused middle-aged woman, settled innocently in the midst of her medleys of bedsheets; haphazard words slipping out of her gaping mouth in the hopes of placating her distressed visitor. They were sweet nothings meant to calm and soothe the youngling, whose identity she herself was not even aware of.

Despite the fact that it was the very child she had bequeathed the embers of life onto, and whom shared with her the blood between daughter and mother. Regardless, the Higurashi matriarch would only forget the essential verity whenever it returned to her mind for but a fleeting moment. Even during the rare, infrequent occasions when she finally did remember, the tangential recollection was simply too ephemeral to bring about any happiness.

"Stop crying, will you please…? Where are your parents?"

—

"Well, this is a rather strange predicament," the silver-haired jounin of Konoha murmured to himself, taking in the unusual sight before him. Beached on the wet surfacing rocks of the waterfall was a denuded and immobile woman lying on her stomach; the lower half of her body immersed in the rippling waters. Lengthy onyx tresses covered the majority of her bare back, and he was not permitted the full view of her facial aspects from his standing position, where he briefly analyzed the scenario. Her figure rose by the slightest centimeters before descending back down, apprising him that she still had the spark of life in her yet. He already knew what he had to do, and thus ran gloved fingers through his locks, sighing. "What a bothersome matter."

Divesting himself of his green upper wear, he leaned down before the vulnerable female and placed it on her back. Uninterested in the promising chance he doubtlessly had at attaining a perverse view of the woman, he gently and nimbly led her unmoving arms backward to loop through the appropriate holes of his vest.

He may have read rather evoking novels, but such an innocuous (which was his own opinion) hobby hardly made him an undignified and twisted pervert. With a smooth, swift movement he carefully flipped her onto her back, intending to zip up the green article apparel. What he saw on the woman's abdomen made his visible right eye narrow.

_She must have been in battle_, he noted, examining the bloody gash marring her injured stomach. It was a deep wound, freshly inflicted, and appeared as though it had yet to be treated properly; for her sake she would need to get it tended to soon, lest her body go through undesirable complications. Not allowing his gaze to wander farther up, he deftly pulled the zipper of his jounin vest northward. With a satisfying little _snick_ it made its transitory journey a flawless success. He glanced at the water where her legs were submerged, swaying slightly with the minuscule tides.

Her state of dress (or lack thereof) was still rather inappropriate despite the modifications he had made, as she was openly nude south from her hips. He would have to improvise that aspect, but more importantly he had to take the newfound woman to the Hokage and report her unexpected presence. Without another moment to squander he solidified his choice of action, and gathered his arms around the unconscious stranger before effortlessly rising to his feet, his breathing package securely at hand. With the unconscious female curled up in a bridal style within his strong hold, he promptly made his way back to the village in an impressive flash of speed. _I need to notify Tsunade-sama about this. _

With strict patrols nowadays on duty, if there had been a fight in the village's proximity it _should_ have been noticed right away. There had actually been naught but tranquility in the past few weeks, and it occurred to him that the woman's unforeseen entry could have posed as a harbinger for possible impending problems, or other forms of imbalances.

The jounin resisted an alluring urge to exhale deeply. He had hoped for his shift to go by smoothly and without any disturbances, so he could casually relax and peruse through the newest issue of his preferred "literature" series. All he had wanted from the waterfall he visited was to get a quick sip to quench his mild, building thirst.

Though as always whenever the duty of a shinobi called, there was barely any time to be lazy or idle. While exhibiting a particularly large and formidable leap as he crossed a sizable gap between two thick tree branches, he momentarily regarded the sleeping visage of the woman he held.

He couldn't help but think he vaguely remembered a her features from _some_where…

—

Pein stared testily at the blossom situated on the palm of his hand; the petals which had once been a pristine and divine white now an ungodly obsidian. Wicked, ominous waves radiated from the flower, the mysteriously intriguing item outrightly expressing its blatant discontent and sour mood. Rinnegan orbs narrowed in contemplation, the caliginous atmosphere of the spacious cave making his subtle actions near unnoticeable. The shinobi closed his fingers in on the pitch-black bloom; slivers of nefarious light passing through the open gaps of his rugged flesh. "You are unable to pinpoint the location of her ring?" he questioned, if only to reaffirm what he already knew.

Nodding solemnly, the polite half of Zetsu answered somberly, "Any and all traces of it have been completely obliterated out of existence."

"It would be safe to assume it's been destroyed," said Pein, thoughtful. "Yet somehow, she herself…is still alive in this world." His attention swept over the distinguishable outlines of his remaining five men, watching for possible reactions. He instinctively knew a number of them were already watching his closed hand, observing the weak rays of illumination barely escaping from his clutches. For them it was straightforwardly simple to surmise that the seemingly harmless flower was no ordinary bibelot, and was connected to their single female comrade's lifeline.

"Leader-sama! This means Kagome-san is out there somewhere, right?" came an energetic whoop, the optimistic tone sorely out of place in the gloomy ambiance. "What delightful news! But how come she hasn't come back to us yet?"

"Shut your mouth Tobi," Deidara growled impatiently, "let him finish." The blonde male was still excessively peeved and perplexed; he had been for the past few days. Despite the mysteries and shrouded secrets his regular partner evidently held, it vexed him knowing the air-headed, masked goof of a ninja had been able to escape from the impendent doom called Kazaana unscathed, while Kagome had been wholly overcome.

"She's probably incapacitated," Kisame suggested easily, unperturbed.

The head of Akatsuki gave a brief, dismissive wave of his arm, wordlessly demanding for the exchanging of dialogues before him to cease. Perfectly poised, he articulated, "Sacrifices are inevitable and must be made in order to achieve our ultimate goal. Kagome, like the rest who have fallen before her, proved to be an invaluable asset and has aided us in speeding up the jinchuuriki collection process." He paused momentarily. "However, we cannot risk her unveiling the abundances of information she holds on this organization. If any of you are to come across her, bring her back immediately. Alternatively, in the possible scenario of her abilities having diminished to a point where she would no longer prove useful…waste no time in disposing of her on the spot."

Sharp eyes piercing through the murky shadows, Pein espied Tobi's melodramatic and inaudible gesture of raising both hands to where his mouth should have been behind the orange mask. It also did not pass by unseen to him when Deidara's figure tensed and moved by the slightest inch. He shifted his astute attention farther ahead to a different area of the unlit cavern, taking in the stock-still form of what was indeed a woman, lying motionless, stiff and perceptibly dead on the frigid ground.

The extraction of Goubi from its host had taken _much_ too long for his tastes. Already Akatsuki was shorthanded compared to how it had been at the start with a full party, and losing Kagome had set their pace back even further. Even so, there were greater concerns and questions that lingered teasingly in Pein's devious mind, unanswered.

According to the information his subordinates had relayed to him, the woman had definitely been defeated and drawn into the fatal vacuum that was Kazaana (he had heard rumors of the Houshi technique before, but never witnessed it in person). Yet, she was undeniably _alive_—how was that possible? Was she trapped within the depths of the vortex—which would explain why Zetsu found himself unable to track the location of her ring, with it residing in a totally dissimilar dimension—or was she elsewhere, without the purposeful accessory equipped on her designated finger? Had she, for some unfathomable reason, not wished to be discovered and destroyed her sole way of being salvaged by Akatsuki? Perhaps, even sliced off her own flesh in order to be relieved of the item which could not be taken off normally?

"Return to your assigned missions, and continue seeking out the remaining jinchuuriki. If any of you are to catch wind on the whereabouts of Kagome's current location, investigate and confirm the basis of the rumor immediately." After his unequivocal orders were clearly received ("Hai, Leader-sama!" Tobi answered spiritedly with a salute, while the others retained their mutenesses) Pein lowered his spiraled orbs, and studied the blossom held captive within his firm grasp once more.

—

"So you found her in this wounded state, without a trace of anyone else's presence?" Tsunade questioned earnestly, peering over the secured bridge of her hands. Before her was the silver-haired jounin who responded docilely with a confirming nod. The living bundle in his arms was now wrapped in a thick blanket from the waist down, the fleece material having been provided immediately by the Hokage's dutiful assistant, Shizune. The blonde sannin narrowed her observant brown orbs, scanning the unidentified woman's dormant form once more. "Bring her closer so I can see her face better."

The shinobi did as instructed and Tsunade was soon closely scrutinizing the mystery at the opposite end of her wooden desk. "Hnn…there's something peculiarly familiar about her," she mused.

"I thought that as well, Hokage-sama."

"But you don't know from where you've seen her either, do you?"

"No, I don't."

Tsunade released a breath and leaned back in her chair, arms crossed under her ample bosom and a pensive expression on her deceivingly youthful face. Shizune kept silent as she stayed at the woman's side, the latter's pet pig Tonton held gingerly in her grasp. The room was quiet for a good while as the Hokage considered what would be the best choice of action for her village's sake and best interests. "Admit her to the hospital for now," she concluded eventually. "After she awakens we will have Ibiki question her and find out her reasoning for having been in the purlieux." Then the slug princess delayed, before continuing, "And Kakashi, you will watch over her until the time of the interrogation."

"Yes ma'am."

—

Unremitting darkness encircled her without hints of ever relenting, and she found herself incapable of discerning the sight of anything beyond her. No matter how long of a time passed her vision stayed frustratingly obsolete. She maundered blindly through the sinister environment, frequently screaming out for help with the desperate hope that someone would finally hear her quavering voice. Whoever at _all _chose to indulge her with a response, she wouldn't mind, as simply anyone was completely acceptable; it was so terribly daunting to be unaccompanied in such an unnerving location. Nevertheless, there came no reply.

Soon however, she was able to detect with her innate senses something new having emerged in the approximate area. But it was not what she had wished for. The insides of her squeamish belly tied together in knots as fear and foreboding overcame her. An ominous and dreadful feeling seized hold over her gut, overwhelming her with a disturbing, numbing sensation. She was definitely not alone, and bound to discover what laid in wait within the pitch black; but in order to do so had to face the being behind her. In spite of the dizzying trepidation coursing through her veins, she spun on her toes—

As a miniscule sound of shock was emitted from her throat, her actual eyes snapped open. This round when she visibly perceived the world around her, she noticed without delay there was light present, to her immeasurable relief. She felt the comforting reassurance of a firm mattress supporting her laying form from behind, and realized soon after that her fists were clenched tightly around the safeguarding blanket above her.

The dream she just experienced had truly shaken her soul, and she had to reassure herself it was indeed naught but false imageries concocted by her guileful brain. Her breathing gradually worked its way back down to a normal tempo, as gentle breezes greeted her from the right side through an open window; the wind's ministrations serving as balms for her tense nerves.

Relishing the endearing caresses of nature as the heat on her complexion cooled off, she loosened her death-grip on the protective fabric atop her. Once her countenance softened with the grateful belief she was safe, her eyes curiously traveled over to the left direction.

There was a person.

"Yo," the stranger greeted candidly, his silver locks and masked mug snagging her initial attention. A single hand of his held up a hardcover book (the image boasted at the front rather lewd) while his other was snug in his pocket. His form was deceptively relaxed but she had the distinct impression he was ready to pounce on her at any given opportunity, with the brute intention of causing physical harm, should it prove necessary for whatever valid reason.

The woman's eyes widened wildly in surprise and realization, before she shot up from her submissive position on the bed, head turned in his direction. The man's upper body unobtrusively leaned forward, prepared to counter anything she would send in his direction.

Silence overtook the room for a good few minutes as the two watched each other, waiting and calculating; the atmosphere thick.

"…who are you…and where am I?" the patient questioned slowly, her voice laced with caution.

The shinobi's stance did not falter, and he honored her with a response. "I am Hatake Kakashi, and you're currently in Konoha."

"Hatake Kakashi…" she whispered just as steadily, emphasizing each fine syllable as she experimentally rolled the words on her tongue. Lowering her gaze temporarily, she did the same with the apparent label of her location, ("And this is, Kono…ha?") before looking back up at the masked man, quizzical. She examined him quietly, from the beginning of his spiky and unruly style of hair, to the hitai-ate fastened proudly to his forehead, to his jounin uniform, and then the disturbingly flashy hardcover he had yet to place aside.

"It would only be fair for you to give me yours as well," the man told her, interrupting her wordless inspection, his tone composed as he too studied her over the pages of his novel.

Upon pure reflex the dark-haired woman opened her mouth, but to her dismay nothing came forth. She blinked, appearing extraordinarily confounded. Fruitlessly, she searched within herself for the answers she must have known once before, but were now unable to recall. Not long after, she gave up and languidly turned her head back to the walls ahead, directing her attention to her hands, the palms still facing down on the soft covers. "Kagome," she answered mechanically, along with a dash of tentativeness, "I am…Kagome." Then she scrunched her nose in bona fide agitation, though she chose not to verbalize her manifest irritation.

_Her name_… Kakashi said to himself in private, already having developed a substantive hunch that he was drifting closer to the truth he sought. Now was the climactic part where he had to rope himself in to reach the ultimate prize. "Kagome-san," he started with poise, lowering his preferent literary series and pocketing it. The jounin's sleek figure slanted toward the human embodiment of his recent hassles, to rest his elbows against his kneecaps, back hunched forth. "If I may ask, why are you here, Kagome-san?"

Brow arched, the woman regarded him with a mystified mien. "If you could tell _me_ that, I'd be satisfied. I don't know myself." Another inviting current of air flew in through the open window, this time stronger in intensity than the last. It weaved through her onyx tresses and coaxed them into performing an elegant, transient dance, before passing by and simply ruffling the silver tips on the strange man's head. "Erm…Kakashi-san. What happened, exactly?"

"You were found washed up on the rocks of a nearby waterfall, injured." The jounin's eye flickered over to where the injury resided on Kagome's stomach, hinting at her to confirm his explanation if she did not believe it. She did as such and he saw as she lowered her chin to sneak a view inside her hospital gown; subsequently taken aback as soon as she took in the troubling view of her now healing wound. "It's inferred that recently you were engaged in combat with another ninja."

"Me?" the woman gasped seriously with surprise etched on her face, both hands rising instantly to her heart. "But…that impossible!"

"Why is that?" Kakashi inquired gently.

"I'm no kunoichi," she replied, shaking her head vehemently to emphasize her statement. Her lips formed a straight, taut line as her brows knitted together worryingly. "Did I…_hurt_ someone?" The last of her sentence was said in a hushed, concerned whisper, and there was honest disquietude painted on her abruptly blanched visage.

The copy ninja's eye narrowed as he mentally evaluated the current situation. He did not utter a word as the woman continued to stare at him in stupor, her fingers slightly quivering as they stayed leveled with her chest. It was obvious she were genuinely afraid, but of what, he was unable to detect. To make things more difficult, her actions did not appear to be part of a clever stratagem—and if they were, then she was a brilliant actress.

"Kakashi-san," she whispered. "How long have I been in this hospital?"

"You've slept through three whole days." The copy ninja watched the woman as she steadily raised a stilled hand to her mouth, now apparently unable to comprehend just _what_ in the galaxy was going on. "Where are you from?"

She shook her head again, lowering both arms to rest on her concealed legs. "I don't know."

"Why are you here?"

"…I don't know."

"Is there anything you _do_ know?"

"I don't…know…" As the unambiguous truth dawned on the woman, she lowered her gaze in defeat, staring yearningly at her long, crystalline nails. When she eventually flipped her hands over she examined the hardened callouses and cuts embedded on each finger, flabbergasted by the sight that was evidently foreign to her. "_Why _don't I know…?" she uttered quietly, the statement being said more to herself than to the shinobi she had just become acquainted with.

It was during that moment when the door to Kagome's appointed room opened, and both people turned to the source of noise. In the doorway was another strange character unfamiliar to the convalescing patient. The newly introduced guest was a woman who must've been in her early twenties and boasted the beautiful highlights of youth. She was a fair-skinned blonde with her hair tied back into two loose, low pigtails; and a violet rhombus embellished on her forehead. Her clothing consisted of a grass-green robe and what appeared to be a kimono-style blouse underneath; the low-cut material revealing her impressive cleavage for the universe to ogle.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes once she caught sight of Kagome, and she shot a meaningful glance at the jounin seated next to her.

"Excuse me for a second," Kakashi said as he rose from his seat, knowing the leader of his village wished to converse with him in private. He casually joined Tsunade at where she stood waiting, but paused mid-step before continuing out the exit with her, hands snug in his pockets. For a good measure, he turned his head back slightly. "Stay here."

"I don't think I'll be going anywhere for a while, Kakashi-san," Kagome replied with a wistful half-smile.

When the door to the room closed with an obedient _click_, the Hokage and jounin both took a solemn moment to regard their topic of interest through the transparent window, which allowed them an unobstructed view into the enclosed area on the other side. They saw Kagome exhale deeply, and leisurely work her body into laying back down, to end in rest with a small hand over her recovering stomach. Tsunade's lips formed a grim line, and she redirected her attention to the silver-haired shinobi as her hand reached inside the folds of her outer clothing layer. "Have you become aware?" the venerable kunoichi asked.

Kakashi nodded gravely. "She appears to have lost her memories, somehow."

There was a _shuffling_ of pages and then Tsunade announced, "Higurashi Kagome," the volume of her voice low enough so as to allow only them hearing. She continued, reading across the text provided in her trustworthy Bingo Book, "S-class rogue shinobi, originating from Takigakure. Active member of the crime syndicate…_Akatsuki._" She flipped the booklet around and raised it mid-air for Kakashi to see, tapping the picture situated at the upper right corner with impatience. "I wasn't totally convinced until I got another look at her just now, but now I'm positive. See here, other than the minor differences of her hair color and the flower accessory, as well as the cloak, it's definitely her face. No mistake about it."

"To think we have a member of Akatsuki within our grasp like this," Kakashi responded, agreeing with the distinct similarities Tsunade pointed out in the photograph. It was mildly hard to believe that the woman residing in the room adjacent to them could possibly be the exact same criminal he was now seeing in the Bingo Book, going by the name of Higurashi Kagome.

The mild disbelief stemmed not from the glaringly obvious physical differentiations, such as the ornament in her hair or the cloak she wore, but from the dark expression her pictured version boasted. Concealed by the high collar of her red-trimmed cloak was the lower half of her face, and situated above were twin brown orbs dimmed with unspoken malice, staring straight at him with the boldly conspicuous look of a merciless killer. "There is much we could gain from her, information-wise."

The corners of Tsunade's lips curled upward in a complacent fashion as she stowed her helpful guide away, back to where it came from. "That's why we're going to skip the interrogation process and proceed immediately with Inoichi's mind reading abilities."

"Sounds like a plan." Kakashi's revealed eye lazily wandered over to view their village's newly attained captive. She had risen from her bed and now stood at the window, chin propped up on her hands, elbows secured atop the white pane. Her head bobbed up and down at a peaceful tempo as she enjoyed the balmy weather meeting her through the generous opening.

—

Yamanaka Inoichi wandered through absolute darkness, brows furrowed in uncertainty. _I've never seen anything like this before_, he observed with a margin of astonishment. Through his many years and countless successes of probing the minds of various ninjas, he had yet to come across what he did in this specific woman's mind. There was nothing present inside, at least visibly, aside from the layers upon layers of opaque obscurity.

Regardless he continued his unguided trek forward, never really having been the type to give up during the early stage of his challenges. There was a concrete reason why he was placed among the group of esteemed shinobi in his village, and that was due to the fact he had never once come across a head he couldn't thoroughly _crack_.

_Whoosh_.

Upon hearing the sudden and intrusive noise, the blonde man twisted nimbly his feet. Teal orbs narrowed in concentration as he attempted in vainly discern whatever it was that had made the sound of movement. He braced himself, heedful not to get entangled in a possible genjutsu trap set up to thwart attempts like his at gathering secrets from the subconscious. _Does something lurk within her mind_? With a strict posture he continued traveling, his new steps more careful. It was not long before, without anymore disturbances, a strange light appeared ahead, and the expert shinobi knew he had reached his desired destination.

"Here it is," he murmured to himself, coming to a stop before a strip of paper suspended in the air. A satisfied hum came from his throat when he read the kanji written on the white surface; Inoichi had found the seal to Higurashi Kagome's mind. "That was easier than I thought." The jounin confidently reached out—

A feral and terribly threatening _snarl_ came from his side.

_What_? the shinobi inwardly exclaimed, eyes darting to where the ominous growl had resounded from. Again he found nothing, and the unforgiving shrouds of gloom helped his cause by no amount. _I must be imagining things_, he assured himself, hoping that were the case. Inoichi returned his attention to where the seal floated auspiciously, intent on swiftly finishing the job and departing from the woman's inner self—the place was uncannily eerie, and immeasurably far from his definition of normal. He resolutely placed a firm hand atop the seal, unfortunately unprepared for what ensued next.

Instead of a complex code that would allow him unobstructed access to the mind's inner workings, after he figured out the solution to it, cerise-red eyes bled forth from the tag that had appeared so innocuous moments before. A heartbeat later the strange form of evil enhanced itself into a larger version, and two crimson spheres soon manifested, glowering at him; fearsome green pupils widely dilated. Following after, an enormous jaw materialized before him, completely parted, bearing awe-inspiring fangs glistening with coats of saliva.

Inoichi was frozen to the spot and found himself incapable of budging even a mere centimeter; the creature having him planted firmly in place where it wanted him. It grinned self-satisfyingly with maleficence as it lunged forward, mouth structure open wide, stopping precariously to loom with torturous intentions over the Yamanaka. Its enormous teeth had him surrounded from both front and behind. He was situated directly between the set of divided fangs, staring directly into the behemoth's pink throat. He could feel the chthonic fiend's hot breath suffocating him.

The jounin's eyes were spread as wide as possible, quivering with unexpressed fear. Never before had he faced something so nefarious, and it made him shake with unrivaled apprehension. He tried to dispel what he wished was simply a well-crafted genjutsu, but his actions proved futile. In spite of the fact he realized he was in someone's head, the plight felt as though he were caught in so much more than just a chimerical trap.

_No!_ The jaws clamped down at last…ruthlessly, again and _again_, and he felt immense, unbearable pain. It was as though his bones and flesh were actually being punctured through. _Crack, crunch, crunch, crack_. He was not even granted the humane liberty to scream. Waves of warm blood gushed down his muscular form, and he could only watch as the nightmarish—

"_Get a hold of yourself_, _Inoichi_!"

Teal orbs cracked open, and the gray walls of the secondary interrogation room greeted the Yamanaka's vision. The man dared to lower his unsteady eyes and saw his right hand still planted firmly on his target's temple, trembling intensely. He retracted his limb as though he'd just been violently singed, and tried to steady its involuntary convulsions with its untouched twin. When he flipped his throbbing palm upward toward the ceiling, he was dazed to see it inflicted with painfully deep burn marks.

"How could this happen…?" Tsunade demanded in an infuriated whisper from his side, gingerly taking the man's damaged fingers into her own and examining them. As she began immediately tending to his newly acquired affliction she lifted her chin up at him, pressing for answers. "Just _what_ went on in there?"

"This _woman_," the blonde responded slowly, grimacing, "has something…ungodly, residing within the depths of her psyche. It serves as a sort of, sentinel, over the depths of her mind." Inoichi grit his teeth as his free hand hovered over his lower abdomen. It was only one of the areas where excruciating pain had been inflicted upon him moments before; the piercing of the savage, unidentified beast's fangs having felt so atrociously real. "It appeared to be a giant canine. But whatever it is it's definitely not human, and coming into contact with it…is _highly_ perilous, Tsunade-sama."

Biting her lower lip, the sannin digested his report with difficulty. "Is such a thing even _possible_?"

"I'm certain her seal isn't the work of a mortal's," Inoichi suggested somberly. He turned his head to the subject of his failure and resisted the urge to wince, as he visually drank in the form of the deceptively tranquil woman before him. Her neck and the rest above were the only parts exposed of her, while the remainder of her body was immersed in the machine he often used for aiding him during his mental invasions. She was subdued and trapped in deep slumber, credits to the potent sedating medicine Tsunade had succeeded in getting her to ingest. Beautiful onyx tresses framing her fair face, a serene smile was also set on her lips. He couldn't help but think she must have been amused by his unsuccessful attempt and utter defeat. _She appears normal on the outer shell, but inside she's a monster_. _I have no doubts she is from Akatsuki_.

"Ibiki!" the Hokage shouted gustily, determined eyes shooting ahead to a burly figure several steps behind the Yamanaka.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" the man answered obediently in his deep baritone, straightening his posture instantly.

"We're going to go through with your interrogation methods next, got it?"

"Understood!"

Brown eyes narrowed pensively as they lingered on a liberal portion of the surrounding gray walls. Tsunade soon retracted her hands from Inoichi's, having healed his injury to the best of her proficient abilities. The remaining visible scars he retained would have to leave on their own in due time. Although he didn't express it openly, she could tell the male Yamanaka must have made acquaintances with a devastatingly frightening being in Higurashi Kagome's mind. Even now, his jaws were clamped tight and his built form uncharacteristically stiff.

"We will do absolutely whatever we can to extract information on Akatsuki from this kunoichi—we cannot afford to let this golden opportunity slip by!"

—

"Please, believe me…I don't remember anything. _Any_thing!" the distraught woman emphasized, requesting for mercy. "Why am I being treated like this? I mean, did I honestly do something so horrible to deserve this? If I did, tell me!" Kagome determinedly attempted to wriggle her way out of her unpleasant predicament, irritatingly unable to comprehend why she was stuck in it in the first place. All she were able to recollect was that in her hospital room she had been presented with a palatable meal and circular pills supposed to "assist her," by hastening up the required time of her convalescence.

When she groggily awoke she found herself blindfolded, and subjected to a harsh barrage of questions from a man whom she did not know. By now her rear was distressingly sore from having been seated in an uncomfortable metal chair for so long. Her arms and legs were in no better state, as both were either tied back or chained together. _Do these people think I'm a murderer or something? _she asked herself with exasperation.

"What is your name?"

"I told you, it's Kagome! Ka-go-me! How many _times_ do I have to say it before you understand?"

"Your _full_ name."

"I don't know…! All I know is that I'm Kagome!"

"What is Akatsuki to you?"

"Akatsuki…?" the woman murmured, sounding contemplative. Her torturer raised a firm brow, hoping to have found the tiny crack; one he could drill farther into with his unmatched skills in psychology. Unfortunately he was met with thorough disappointment when his prisoner spoke again, her evident conclusion beyond preposterous. "Is that some type…of food?"

Ibiki allowed a slight frown to grace his chapped lips, knowing the paths of his interrogation were heading nowhere. In the summation of several hours he had acquired nothing of value from the incorrigible woman. Without question his methods were indeed superbly effective, but there was a loophole he couldn't stitch together.

Just like how the adept Yamanaka Inoichi had been unable to delve into the female's mind due to a suspiciously abnormal barrier, he too was unable to dig into her conscience, because of her obvious lack of recollections. He had a strong hunch her behavior was anything _but_ a ruse, and found it maddeningly difficult to believe that an S-class criminal could behave in such a ridiculously silly fashion—memory loss or _not_.

"I know…why don't you ask Hatake Kakashi-san for his opinion? You know him, right? He lives here in Konoha. He can tell you I'm not a bad person—I'm sure of it!"

—

"Killing her would be the easier and more prudent method of action," Tsunade murmured, arms crossed as she stared at the surface of her desk. Unsigned contracts and paperwork were messily littered everywhere atop the furniture, and the sight of them merely contributed to her swiftly developing migraine. She bit the inside of her cheek, allowing her eyes to roam upward and stop at the sight of the silver-haired jounin standing erect before her. "But, by choosing to be patient instead, there is much more we could garner from Higurashi Kagome."

"And if she begins to regain her sense of self, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi questioned politely. "She could cause some fatal damage if we're caught off-guard."

"That's why _you_ are going to accept the task of continuing your observation over her," the woman enunciated, "and at the first hint you get that she's returning to who she once was, you will report to me immediately."

"Are you sure it's alright to place such a big responsibility on me?" asked the copy ninja.

Tsunade smirked, raising her pointed chin. "I trust your extraordinary abilities and keenness in sense, Kakashi. You have already gained at least modicum of Higurashi's trust, as well." Her confident expression nearly faltered at the thought of the village heads and leader of the ANBU subdivision. "Also, because I want to keep this a hidden secret between the very few who are already privy to the information. If Danzou or the other elders were to find out, they would demand to have the woman executed on the spot without a moment's hesitation. If that happens, we lose our one definite trail on the inner workings of Akatsuki."

The jounin nodded. "I understand. However, would she not be recognized around the village?"

"With her alternations in appearance and _especially_ demeanor, she shouldn't strike anyone as being a runaway ninja—at least not enough for them to actually check. Her name is not nearly as infamous as others of the like in the Bingo Book, either. But, hnn"—a coarse, disgruntled sound came from the kunoichi's throat, "—well, improvise as you go, I suppose. Everything should be fine so long as she doesn't draw unwanted attention to herself. Keep her on low-profile, and away from the views of the higher-ups."

Shizune chose that moment to remonstrate with her own opinion. "Tsunade-sama, I _don't_ think this is a good idea."

"Why not?"

"The plan seems too haphazard. Why don't we just imprison her until she—?"

"Don't be absurd, Shizune!" the blonde reprimanded sharply in return, slamming a powerful fist on her worktable. "You know that when a person loses their memories, the fastest way to recuperating them is by living a natural mode of life until they start coming back. Excessive stress will only hinder the progress!" Tsunade's countenance sobered instantly and she leaned over her desk to continue speaking, her tone taking a serious turn. "Even if all she'll be able to remember are bits and pieces, we _have_ to make the best uses of the advantages we are given to work with. Now that Akatsuki is constantly on the move, it's just a matter of time before they strike Konoha to gain possession of Naruto…"

The Hokage's assistant sighed, recognizing the signs of a battle she had no chance at winning; Tonton simulating her gesture in unison.

"So, will you accept the duty?"

Kakashi found himself leaning more towards Shizune's reasonable logic. However—

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

—

"Kakashi-san," rang a feminine voice from behind the strolling jounin. "Where are you taking me?"

"To your home," the man answered succinctly, his gait steady.

"I thought I don't live in Konoha?"

"You do now," Kakashi lied smoothly, "since you passed the test."

"Test?" Kagome echoed, placing an index finger on her chin. "Oh…you mean, that awkward interrogation process was some sort of _entry_ exam into the village?" She was answered by a bobbing of the man's head, his silver hair rising up and descending subsequently. "That's so strange. It doesn't seem practical to me by any means."

"It was necessary because of the state we found you in," Kakashi told her matter-of-factly.

"True, that's plausible," Kagome acquiesced. Minutes later she picked up her slower pace and caught up to the jounin's side. "You're the one who saved me—right, Kakashi-san?"

The man permitted his half-lidded eye to flit over, catching the sight of a grateful smile directed towards him. "You could say that."

"Well, you have my gratitude. I owe you my life," she told him good-naturedly. "I should probably be more thankful towards Konoha, too, for being generous and giving me a place to stay. I just know I wouldn't be able to survive a day out there in the wild—_especially_ without a proper way to bathe." Kagome expressed her enormous disdain for the appalling thought with an unconstrained shiver, that traveled theatrically through the bones of her body. When she noticed Kakashi was giving her a look that presumably questioned her sanity, she grinned sheepishly and stuck out a tiny portion of her tongue at him in a frivolous manner.

How could _she_ be a member of Akatsuki?

—

The fire situated in the middle of a campsite burned bright, crackling satisfyingly. Three figures sat scattered from one another, each individual requiring their own respective space to mentally piece themself back together; sporting differentiating injuries that were bandaged. Guided by the dim beams of twilight, an especially beautiful shinobi dressed in an elegant array of diverse colors and silk rose to his feet, wordlessly heading to the direction of where he knew a lake resided.

Another man, still seated and clad in black and purple, raised a tentative hand, opening his mouth to speak, though he couldn't draw forth the courage to do so. The brunette a safe distance away from him listlessly shook her head, signaling to him that he should stay silent. It was not long until the duo were left to their lonesome.

_Crick_, _crack_. Sango threw in several bars of wood to feed the ravenous flames and keep them sated; eyelids heavy, more so with emotional fatigue than physical. _Pop_.

"Even though Sesshoumaru never admitted it," the kunoichi finally spoke, her matured voice dishearteningly crestfallen, "I think…he considered Bankotsu his closest friend." Afterwards she chose not to spare another second and lowered her head to her upraised knees, unshed tears brimming underneath the surface of her closed brown orbs. "We stopped Kagome, but we lost Kikyou, Inuyasha…and even him. All four of them are now dead. I have to ask myself, was all of this really worth it? Was there anything of value we actually gained…?"

Bankotsu had lost his life during combat, nearly a week ago, when their group had come into direct contact with Akatsuki. After Miroku had withdrawn his hand and discontinued his usage of Kazaana, he had been far too weakened and drained of chakra to continue fighting. He had been degraded into naught but a heavy burden for his companions as they were suddenly bequeathed the responsibility of his life and no longer just their own.

The blonde criminal shinobi who specialized in bombs and had accompanied Kagome from the battle's beginning had solely targeted him from that point. He was sure to have died from the man's wrath—and _should_ have—but instead it was the Shichinintai who showed far too much compassion for his comrades that superseded him; _he _died in _his_ place.

The momentary opening he had been exposed, to due to his rashness of trying to play savior, was all it'd taken for the blue man of Akatsuki to deal him a grotesquely fatal wound, with the monstrosity of a weapon dubbed Samehada ("_As you can see my sword doesn't slice, it rips you to ribbons_," he had stated cruelly with a barbaric smirk). At that point everything else should have proceeded further downhill—in fact, their entire group _should_ have been decimated that very day—because there had been no hopes of an equilibrium in the fighting.

Sesshoumaru was the only one who had been able to hold his Uchiha opponent at bay, but with his teammates unable to handle their own arranged enemies, he would surely have fallen as well with the rest of the rogue ninjas upon him. As luck would have it the four (to the Houshi's vexation, that eerie man called "Tobi" had survived, despite him having personally seen to the enigma's demise with his Kazaana) members of the crime syndicate retreated promptly after Bankotsu's death, to Miroku's wonder.

The blonde shinobi with a high half-ponytail had shown a sliver of reluctance to leave at first, grinding his teeth and glaring balefully at him. However he eventually chose to obey the orders issued by their "Leader-sama" who had apparently "grown too aggravated to wait any longer."

Without a moment's hesitation he, Sango and Sesshoumaru had all cluttered to Bankotsu's side, unmindful of the copious pool of crimson surrounding him, and enlarging rapidly. He had given them a weak smirk and a poorly attempted thumbs-up gesture, to try and deceive them into believing he was somewhat "okay."

Even before his imminent death he had played it off as a jaunty fellow, by spewing puerile things—along with blood—from his mouth, that had proved less than humorous to them in the midst of the grievous circumstance. With strained breaths he had pushed himself to recite to them his parting goodbye.

_Yo, Sesshoumaru…this has gotta be…the first time I see _anything…_on that impassive face…of yours._ In response the silver-haired jounin had ordered coarsely for him to shut his mouth and reserve his waning strength. "_Miroku and Sango_…_stay happy together_…_lucky shits._" The Houshi himself had lowered his head, unable to properly thank the companion who had sacrificed his life in order to save his; the kunoichi beside him having covered her mouth with a hand to stifle the agonizing sounds trying to escape. …_kick that blonde_…_bastard's ass for me—the one_…_who thinks he's…Kagome's boyfriend…_ Even as his cerulean orbs lost their charming luster, Shichinintai Bankotsu had died with a rueful smile dictating his mouth. _Sorry guys…_

As for the younger Taisho brother—he had been nowhere to be found, not a sign left behind to hint at his whereabouts. Old Myouga was the one who had dispiritedly confirmed for them his summoner's indisputable death. He had done so with a tiny contract in his tight grip, and even tinier blotches of his tears falling down on the fine ink, effectively smudging the sloppily inscribed signature, wailing ("_I-Inuyasha-sama_…!").

"Sesshoumaru may be pondering on that himself," Miroku replied belatedly, staring into the roaring flames. A grim line formed at his lips as he recalled something else that had occurred recently. Particularly, one of the last conversations he had ever shared with the male Shichinintai, which had primarily revolved around the topic of their old friend Higurashi Kagome (_Listen, only you with your Kazaana can pull this off. I'm sorry to have to ask you for this, but I can depend on you, right?_). The Houshi stared down morosely at his right hand, flipping it over to study the purple beads suppressing his formidable bloodline technique. _Have I done the right thing_? he mused darkly. "Sango, there's…something I need to tell you."

"…yes?" The kunoichi's voice was depressingly soft, and his will betrayed him when he saw the woman he loved so deeply raise her head, prepared for the awaited blow that would knock her down into a state of bitter weeping. "What is it, Miroku?" His Tajiya Sango was always so proud and dauntless, standing straight with her sights set up high. It distressed him seeing the capturer of his heart try so desperately not to cry; it simply broke him.

He drew himself up and slowly walked over to Sango, taking a seat beside her. "…it's nothing." The man wrapped his virile arms around his partner and coaxed her to lean in to his committed embrace. Chin resting atop her temple, he murmured endearingly, "Let it all out, Sango. Permit yourself to be weak, if only for tonight." He closed his eyes as elegiac sobs soon filled his ears, and a tremor began at the area of his chest; the kunoichi mourning enough for the both of them. "I'm here for you."

Miles away from the encampment, Sesshoumaru sat in complete silence and solitude; back against a tree, hand draped over a risen knee. He ruminatively stared out into the blackened night, already having lost track of time, which was painfully unbecoming of him. It appeared to him as though evening had arrived in the mere blink of an eye. Golden orbs watched vacantly as fireflies arose from their cleverly chosen hiding spots, to frolic energetically in the darkness. The simple yet beautiful little insects fluttered above the majestic lake, serving as beacons of hope in the gloomy, lightless obscurity. As he mutely spectated their elegant albeit unrehearsed dancing, a lone, brave speck of chartreuse wandered into his deceitfully welcoming palm.

"…indeed, we are only human," the man whispered to himself, closing his fist and crushing the helpless, insignificant fleck of life subjected to his mercy. "Inuyasha, Bankotsu. You imbecilic fools."

—

"Kakashi-san, I think…someone occupies this place already," Kagome declared uncertainly, her eyes scanning the living quarters. In the open kitchen adjacent to the main area there was a small dining table littered with scraps of old food containers. A simple white shirt laid innocently strewn on top of a chair to her left, and beside it on the carpet was a messy, ruined stack of ("Those look kinda _familiar_.") books sporting obscene pictures on the covers. When she had entered through the door of the nice apartment complex, she hadn't expected to be met with what was now all before her.

"That would be me," the copy ninja answered, moving past her to gather up his erotic novels with the intention of placing them elsewhere.

"_Eh?" _Kagome squeaked, taking into account his words. "We can't live together! That…that's indecent!"

_Orders are orders, and I have to keep close watch on you Higurashi_, the jounin responded mentally, restraining himself from vocally expressing his veritable thoughts. He walked an all too familiar path to his bedroom, mentally considering where he should place his abundance of erotic treasures. "You won't be deprived of your own privacy. And as for sleeping, you can take the bed." It wasn't as if he himself were totally buoyant with the arrangement of things.

He would also have to deal with the troubling disconcertion that came with a new roommate to share his residence with—a hazardous woman, who held valuable information and could revert back to her old deplorable self at any unpredictable minute, no less. While she was so bothered by trivial things concerning petty morals, he was the one who had to put his actual life on the line. Kakashi moved his head left to right, considering where in his chamber to put down his valuable load.

Kagome's head appeared from behind the door. "And what about you, Kakashi-san? Where are you going to sleep?"

"The couches are fine for me," he said, his tone betraying nothing of his inner pondering.

"I don't want to…impose," the woman responded, scrunching her nose. "You're giving up a lot of your own comforts to help me."

_For Konoha_, Kakashi corrected her in his mind. "I don't exactly—"

"Ah! I know," chimed the dark-haired female, slapping an enthusiastic fist into her open palm, "why don't I return the favor, by doing…you know, household things?"

"Household things?" Kakashi parroted nonchalantly, setting his stack of books down in the darkest depths of his closet.

"Mhm!" Kagome hummed, smiling. "Cooking, laundry, cleaning, groceries? I can at _least_ do all of that."

Kakashi stood straight and turned to face her, hand on his chin, eye up towards the ceiling. He regarded her cheery expression and answered accordingly, "If it pleases you, then feel free."

She beamed at him and gave him the "A-Ok" sign with her hand. "Will do, Kakashi-san!"

Hatake Kakashi visually swept over the woman's form, dressed in the simple white and azure themed kimono Shizune had lent her. Her brown eyes, doe-like and innocent, sparkled with the felicity only genuine naïvety could summon forth. He wanted to lean down, and whisper minatorily in her ear, "_Don't act so happy_," because when the due time arrived she would serve her single designated purpose, and subsequently be sentenced to death without fail. The female before him had not a bantam of a clue that she was Higurashi Kagome, a member of the infamous Akatsuki; a mercenary with a generous bounty plastered on her pretty forehead.

She was ignorant of how many people she had wrongfully slain with her fingers, and how much tainted blood actually coated them. Dismaying images flashed in his head: previous members of the detestable organization called Akatsuki, with which he had already crossed paths with. Then that of the recently deceased Sarutobi Asuma, and his pregnant and now widowed wife Kurenai; the sorrowful expressions the departed man's trio of students had outrightly shown at his heartrending funeral. In spite of the passive skill he normally always possessed in keeping his constant cool, the silver-haired jounin's rough hand curled into a fist under the hidden security of his pocket.

But he feigned a companionable gesture, his eye crinkling at her for the first time. "Good, it's settled then."

* * *

**Chapter Seven: We Were Only Seeking Happiness**

* * *

_You can change your destiny.  
Destruction and grief are inevitable, but you can change it all.  
You possess the power to do it.  
Now… will you forge your own path, Higurashi Kagome? _

For some unfathomable reason, at this outrageous and inept midnight hour, those words were echoing incessantly in her ears. Perhaps, because at one point, they had given her so much hope: the flowery, pretentious language articulated expertly by an inscrutable man kneeling down to her in the mud and rain, proffering to her a promise of salvation. Along with power, quite literally, in the palm of his right hand—in the tangible form of a sinfully pristine white blossom.

She had been fully taken in by his excellently conveyed rhetoric, hypnotized by his discorporate gray eyes. It hadn't helped by any means that she had just fled from her own village, her home, with metaphorical blood on her fingertips. Desperate; that's what she'd been when he came upon her for the second time in her life, her blanched child-like face caked with dirt and her clothes being in no cleaner condition. Thankfully she had been able to save a tiny bit of face, at the least, due to the raindrops hailing down and making her tears indistinguishable.

It was that fateful day under the leaden overcast skies, her body heavy with mental fatigue and confusion and sorrow, that she had signed a contract with the orange-haired devil.

Yet where was he to be found now, the enigmatic being going by the sobriquet of "Pein," whom had appeared so much like a transcendent god with the halo of light behind him as he spoke to her? He was the one who had recruited her into Akatsuki, having smoothly persuaded her in her most vulnerable moment that that was the only way for her to actively pursue the deliverance which she sought. She had foolishly believed him, because there had been nothing _left_ to believe in—naught else to gamble her juvenile faith on.

And even now, she still believed in him.

…so where was he—where was her God? Or rather, to be more precise, the orange-haired devil who had masqueraded as a benevolent deity before her.

Why was he nowhere to be found while her now seventeen-year-old self lied supine on the rough stone floor, flailing erratically like a fish out of water, flopping and panting noisily for breath? While her heart thundered violently in her ears, warning her that should she force any more gratuitous strain upon it, it may possibly just break down on her. And even that was nil compared to the raucous wailing of her tortured soul—it unable to endure her splenetic inner turmoils and lack of stability any longer, beseeching her to simply surrender and silently wilt.

To, _please_, cease the sufferings.

And by some miniscule chance maybe, just maybe, she might have been masochistic, because regardless of the anguish plaguing her and her protesting body and mind and soul, she refused to break down and just disappear from the world. No, she would not permit her existence to be wiped off the dreadful earth's surface. At least, not so easily.

Her vision was perilously fuzzy and blurred but she could clearly make out the two discrete figures standing upside-down before her shivering, disheveled form. Her body, which hadn't properly been washed nor groomed for a disturbingly prolonged period of time, was sparkling with copious amounts of perspiration. And the dim lambent lighting in the enclosed area was determined on exposing her for how filthy and disgusting she truly was, while the nape of her neck and her back were adhered helplessly to the coarse ground.

There was no mercy to be spared for her tonight.

In her distant thoughts she were vaguely aware—of how her thin white robe clung to her clammy skin as a second impractical layer of defense; how excessively neurotic she felt without a damn _flower_ in her hair; that she was currently in their room at the hideout, fallen on her backside like a turtle and unable to rise to her feet while her hand gripped fiercely at the front of her garment. But as she were lying there powerless, chest heaving spectacularly, too weak to draw herself up and her breathing harsh and ragged and not so different from the sounds a dying animal would utter…

…purely one thing, a single image, was crystalline in her nebulous mind.

_His_ scorpion insignia.

The redheaded one, whose inhuman form was hidden behind his black Akatsuki cloak. By now the cerise clouds weren't even discernible to her.

Him.

She absolutely despised _him_.

This rare evening, for whatever legitimate reason he had, he was not buried beneath the safe barrier that was his puppet: Hiruko. He was holding his right arm out before his more concerned younger partner, a blue-eyed blond male, as if to forbid him from approaching her. Furthermore his expression was stolid, as per usual, and he himself blatantly indifferent to her state of agony.

…and she hated him for it—that incorrigibly blasé attitude of his.

Bitter, scorching anger churned and welled up in the pit of her stomach, creeping up her esophagus and not entirely unlike stomach acid seeking freedom.

In that instant she made a brash decision:

To purge the mortal realm of him; him and his cruel indifference.

She was oblivious to the blond young man watching her with a wide azure eye, staying put behind his superior's upraised limb.

What ensued next happened all too fast.

None would expect for a withering, seemingly dying female to suddenly flip over onto her abdomen and thrust her right hand into the air before her—and for all five nails of that particular hand to glow a precious neon yellow before instantaneously extending and shooting forth seconds later. The stretched projections were like stiffened whips, thin and compact in density, and as sharp and trenchant as cutting blades judging by the transpiring noise—a clean, piercing _crack_.

They were a brilliant source of radiance in the encompassing tenebrosity.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) they missed the redheaded male's head, not having even managed in grazing his cheek. In the nick of time he had simply tipped his head to the right by a few spare inches, red hair flying momentarily with the unexpected swift movement, almost elegantly so. Should the young woman have been victorious in decapitating him it wouldn't have mattered anyway; he was no ordinary human, he was beyond experiencing pain and being slain like one. And neither was he the type to indulge a vindictive female in her spiteful whims.

The ends of her glowing protrusions were embedded deeply into the solid wall behind the two erect figures.

Its mark would forever be left behind, serving eternally as a reminder of her expressed murderous intent.

She was puffing harshly now and aspirating with greater urgency, sweat pouring down her dampened temples. Her uplifted right arm shook visibly, begging to be placed back down, but she denied its request for repose; unwilling to withdraw her futile attempt at an assault.

It was about then that the spectating blonde could honestly appreciate her for how she looked at her best when she possessed strength. Right now with her sickeningly sallow complexion, sunken brown eyes, crusted pale lips and unruly sloven hair, she was the personification of the word 'miserable'. Her countenance was contorted with loathing and animosity as she regarded his unperturbed partner who wasn't even batting an eyelash.

In fact, with the way the two were acting, he might not have been present in the room.

His redheaded colleague, whose sleeved antiseptic arm still blocked him from walking forward, was looking disinterestedly down his nose at the ill young woman with his head stagnantly tilted to the side. (Being a puppet meant your body never grew sore from maintaining any fixed positions…) Reddish eyes flickered shrewdly to the offensive beaming appendages going past his unscathed cheek, their pointed tips wedged deeply into the unfeeling walls ahead.

"In such an unfavorable predicament as this, you would do better to conserve your chakra."

There was no compassion nor care in his tone; not even an edge of indignation. At the most he sounded as though he were admonishing a witless child.

She, on the other hand, responded with unadulterated vehemence.

"Urusai!" snapped the young woman, practically _snarling_, an irregular crimson glint in her overwrought eyes. (The blond thought he might have just imagined it.) Even now she obstinately refused to lower her right arm, despite the fact that it was quivering uncontrollably. Right then, she was not so different from a feral beast impervious to reason and logic. The only other thing evident of her was the detestation scribbled all over her twisted visage. "Urusai… urusai… _urusai_!" The delirious female all but shrieked the last bit.

It was an abject sight to behold.

From the corner of his eye the blond male might've espied the vestige of a slight smirk on his partner's lips.

Was it possible that his impassive danna was a sadist?

The young shinobi was tempted to take a reflexive step backward when the prostrated female, without warning, began retching on the floor. Her bright yellow whip-blades instantaneously dissolved mid-air as she slammed both fists down below her chest, elbows bent and wobbly as she attempted futilely to support herself.

With the vanishing of her ire's physical manifestations, the nonchalant puppet master had his head firmly back in place.

There was no distinct odor, but just the grisly sounds of her heaving and gagging and coughing irrepressibly were enough to induce a nauseating discomfort within the blond. In spite of that he couldn't help but keep staring in morbid awe, unable to turn away. What arose from her digestive system claimed no shape or form; she was vomiting only greenish-yellow, citrusy-looking liquid—_bile_. As the unappealing contents of her stomach splattered loudly on the floor, some of it rebounded up from the impact and cleaved to hanging strands of lengthy raven hair.

When the repulsive noises eventually, slowly faded away, they were replaced by erratic pants.

The dreadful ambiance made his spine tingle; there was something abnormal nearing the surface…

"…what are you doing, Deidara?" the raven-haired young woman asked shakily under her breath. She weakly lifted her chin, eyes partially hidden by her bangs, the slippery corners of her mouth glistening unattractively. "What do you think you're doing… just… _standing there_!" It seemed she were exerting profound effort in order to keep her tone collected—not that it was working.

_Help me… why won't you help me…?_

Deidara met her reproachful—no, _pleading_—gaze, but he budged not a centimeter.

Thankfully he was dismissed, in favor of the other male in the room.

"…and you," she rasped, voice quaking as she reached her unsteady hand out again to the redheaded one. While vainly trying to catch his far away profile in her grip, this time her nails remained short and untransformed. By now she should have already fainted; she was at her limit, yet still inanely pressing herself to continue.

Her eyes were flashing crimson again, and that was how Deidara knew he hadn't mistakenly imagined what he thought he had earlier.

Heaving, she feverishly whispered, "I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll _kill_ _you_…! _I'll kill you for sure_…_Saso_—!" Her proclamation of vengeance was curtailed when she fell unceremoniously into the puddle of grime under her, face-first. A magnified splash openly announced the conclusion of her mortifying debacle.

She was stock-still.

_How pathetic… I'm pathetic. Don't look at me…_

Already her mind was too remote to even register that she was lying despairingly in her own vomit. The warm putrid muck seeped into the fronts of her clothing and varying portions of her hair. Regardless of its new slimy coating, the stony ground was still accursedly cold. Never before had she anticipated ending up in so pitiful a plight, with the side of her face pressed against a puke-coated floor. She listlessly craned her neck back, ignoring the slick grotesque _swish_ of tenuous liquid to see two motionless sets of ninja sandal-adorning feet in her wavering vision.

Brown eyes misted over as they lost their central focus.

The few specific details of the room escaped her.

But she could still hear—at least, until her consciousness slipped away completely.

"Then continue on living, if only for the prospect of that day to come," Sasori responded with a tone of finality, his hooded eyes solemn as he surveyed the wretch before him. "Save yourself."

_Save myself_…_? _

_I don't want to hear that._

…_not from someone like you._

There was a fine rustling of cloth as he finally dropped the arm that had been obstructing his younger partner. "You will speak of this to no one, Deidara."

A reluctant but affirmative grunt answered back.

Predatory darkness moved in on Kagome without her even closing her eyes. Her body felt numb; the pain that had earlier been tormenting her was now gone. Yet, relief was absent…

_W-wait—_

…_don't_… _don't leave me alone—not like this!_

_Is-is anyone there…_

_Can anyone hear me…?_

_Someone, help me… please…_

…_I'm scared… I'm scared…_

_Somebody, anybody…_

_Help…_

…_help me…_

—

The bright sunshine on her eyelids set her optic nerves alight, and nineteen-year-old Higurashi Kagome quietly stirred awake from Mother Nature's gentle kiss. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and she took a minute to languidly rub the sleep from them. She suddenly paused in the middle of her actions, and peered up quizzically at the green ceiling. Then, she immediately shot up on the mattress, and mindfully observed the rest of her surrounding environment, guarded and vigilant. It seemed to be but a tiny bedroom, and an innocuous one at that.

From behind her was a sizable window, the curtains brushed aside; that was how the sun's beams had reached her. There was a simple desk and an accompanying chair, several randomly colored notes pinned up on the walls, a low shelf with a number of books stationed neatly atop it, and next to them on the same shelf a humble alarm clock and a propped-up picture frame. Looking down, she saw that the thick covers keeping her legs cozy boasted the charming design of nondescript shuriken.

For but a fleeting moment, she zoned out and lost her concentration, visually mesmerized by an unremarkable, yet particularly appealing, shuriken. Her mind was skeptically blank.

But then, she raised her eyes, recognition and luster present in them.

"…oh, right," Kagome mumbled, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "This is Kakashi-san's… home."

She slipped out of bed, the soles of her feet making contact with the wooden floor. Once she was up she made certain to tidily tuck the blanket into place. After doing so, the woman extended her arms into the air, linking her hands and stretching out the kinks in her arching back. Upon hearing a satisfying crack, she smiled blissfully to herself and reassumed her normal stance. Glancing at the clock, she found that it was well past noon.

_I sure slept a lot_, she thought to herself in amazement, scanning the rest of the room. _Maybe a little too much…_

Her stomach growled rebelliously, demanding that she tend to its need for food. Patting it absentmindedly, Kagome made the decision to embark on a quest for nourishment. She discovered that a certain silver-haired man was nowhere to be found in the living room or open-spaced kitchen. Disregarding his absence for now, she padded into the latter, making a beeline for the medium-sized fridge.

When she opened it, the woman saw naught but a carton of milk (and even that was empty, she realized dejectedly, after giving it an experimental shake). Besides the lone item, the whole refrigerator was totally barren and devoid of anything consumable. There was a rotten tomato at the bottom, but she doubted that would do her any good. Kagome closed the appliance and sighed, setting a palm on top of her noisy belly to try and placate it. Feeling the gauze under her fingertips, she frowned.

_Right, there's bigger problems other than today's breakfast_, she reminded herself somberly. _I still don't remember anything except my name_—

"You're finally awake."

Kagome's head shot toward the source of the sound, to see Kakashi standing several feet away from her. His countenance was still partly masked as she had seen it the day before, but the rest of his body was… not so decently covered—namely his upper limbs and torso. The bottom half and below was wrapped securely in a white towel, the ends stopping just after his knees. Another smaller towel hung around his neck, his hands gripping it laxly from both sides. Drooping a tad from the moisture that had yet to evaporate was the man's sleek and damp silver hair.

It was then, judging by his impressively chiseled abs and the subtle albeit apparent muscles in his arms, that she realized: this guy was _built_.

And after that, she screamed shrilly, and grabbed whatever she could off the nearby kitchen counter.

In prompt response, Kakashi advanced a step, on the qui vive. "Are you all right?"

"N-no!" she stammered, wildly swinging a frying pan before her as she looked in the other direction. Her cheeks were shaded a deep red. "D-don't come any c-closer, you got that? I'm n-_not_ afraid to use this!"

"What's wrong?" the copy ninja questioned seriously, wondering what was with her sudden hostility. She wasn't striking as a ninja would, however, so he doubted it was anything too hazardous.

"Wha—what's _wrong_? You're naked! That's what's wrong!" she retorted from behind the frying pan; it was now being utilized to hide her face. "Go put some clothes on or something, you… you shameless _hentai_!"

Kakashi eventually straightened his posture, blinking an eye in bewilderment.

—

Pein sat unaccompanied at the ledge of a stone cliff, one leg dangling haphazardly whereas the other was drawn up to his chest. His narrowed, concentric gray eyes ran over the prominent features of the obsidian blossom held in the palm of his hand. It continually emitted a diffused, dark glow from all around it. Without the warmth of its designated human host to feed off of, its petals were almost painfully cool to the touch.

Several times in the distant past it had attempted to coax and draw him in to its deceitful webs of false protection and motherly lies; its objective being to use him for its own sinister benefits. Needless to say, the leader of Akatsuki wasn't very susceptible in falling prey to a malevolent flower that possessed a mind of its own. Presently, its main concern revolved around reuniting with its one true mistress, who was now the sole mortal capable of sating its unique appetite.

"Are you stricken with hunger?" he said tonelessly, his words coming across as more of a statement than a question.

On cue, the waves of energy being discharged from the blossom crescendoed in frequency. The ambiguous plant itself trembled in anticipation, and Pein knowingly ascended from his seat. He remained placid even as the desolate grounds surrounding him shook aggressively_. _As much as it appeared to be it, this was no natural earthquake. Before any devastating damage could be borne, however, a black sphere materialized before the shinobi, floating in the air. It was small, the size of perhaps a child's playing ball, but he knew better than to dismiss it.

"You are late," Pein enunciated simply, raising an unfurled hand towards it; the palm in which he held the obsidian flower. _With this, I will take matters into my own hands…_

Both the nefarious sphere and blossom pulsed ecstatically, flawlessly resonating together in sync. Then, as if the invisible barrier confining it had been undone, the levitating black sphere burst open and spilled its devilish black influence across the limitless blue skies, the isolated mountains and gray valleys—and enveloped Pein in ineluctable darkness.

The shinobi displayed not an ounce of apprehension on his visage, even when all he could see beyond him was a pair of large, crimson eyes, glaring directly at him.

"So _this_ is why I was summoned in such a bothersome fashion," sneered a booming voice, the fiendish vermillion orbs riveted to Pein's staid frame. They then caught sight of the flower in his grasp, and at once widened in pure fury, green pupils dilating dramatically. The creature of shadows roared, "_WHY DO YOU POSSESS THAT?_"

Unimpressed, Pein sedately elevated his left palm before him, requesting silence. "Kage no Kurayami."

Kurayami, though apparently unable to step out from beyond the impenetrable blackness, growled menacingly. "My _human_, the Higurashi—"

"As you can see, according to the medium—" Pein glanced down at the eerily glowing blossom, "—she is very much alive."

There was a ponderous, momentary silence.

Monstrous crimson orbs narrowed in speculation. "Inauspicious events have taken place, I see… It won't do to have her parted for long from my essence; you realize that, don't you?"

His eyesight having adjusted to the lack of lighting, Pein was able to identify the contours of his lifted arm as he insouciantly lowered it back to his side. "You needn't be anxious, for I wholeheartedly plan on returning this to her," the man replied evenly. "However, in order to do so as quickly and efficiently as possible, I require your knowledge and assistance."

"This had better not be some sort of cunningly devised _trick_," the incorporeal creature hissed. "If it is, then be assured—I _will_ come for your throat when you least expect it!"

Without missing a beat, Pein calmly shook his head.

"Iie. Do not forget, Kurayami; my success is your success, and your failure is my failure," he asserted, squandering no precious time. "It would be counterproductive for me to act against you."

"…well, well, aren't we particularly eloquent this afternoon?" drawled the veiled beast. Sobering, it barked, "Speak up then, human—state _specifically_ what you need!"

Pein tilted his head slightly to the side, never breaking eye contact with Kurayami. "For one, I will know if you have any valuable wisdom regarding the Kazaana."

If the canine's muzzle were visible, it would have been bobbing vertically in a nod. "Hnn… I take that that is what you meant by 'knowledge'. Very good, and what of my 'assistance'?"

"You are to aid me in pursuing an old acquaintance of ours."

A hovering pair of crimson eyes narrowed knowingly at the undaunted human—and then, there was resonating laughter; a ruthless, heinous cackling.

All the while, Pein preserved his detached expression. _You will elude me no longer. _

—

The animated streets of Konoha were bustling and brimming with citizens left and right, everyone going about their daily lives in the mundane afternoon. Kagome huffed, dressed in one of Shizune's spare kimono and marching gallantly ahead, while Kakashi trailed neatly behind her, hands in his pockets. It appeared she was still flustered over the earlier incident. He had played guilty and rubbed the back of his neck, apologizing; it weren't as if he always had a female guest sleeping over, and he was used to routinely going around in his apartment half-nude.

Well, on the bright side, it was much more reassuring in terms of safety to be walking behind an S-class criminal, rather than in front of them.

And with said S-class criminal he was presently making a trip to the market.

In what an odd direction the earth spun.

Normally he never did have any food lying around in his apartment, since it weren't as if he was home often anyway. With the sudden vicissitude in his life, however, it would seem several things were subject to change. The Hokage was unlikely to assign him any other mission, not before he was completed with the current one. Meaning he would be stuck with Higurashi Kagome, a dangerous rogue ninja from Takigakure, until she regained—or started to regain—her past memories.

And when was _that _supposed to happen…?

Due to the precariousness of his task, with it having no official approximate time estimate stamped on it, and him needing to be paid, he was being granted a stipend. Plus, a bit more added sum to cover for his impromptu roommate's expenses. The idea of residing in Konoha in utter desuetude for anywhere up to several months was not appealing by any means to the silver-haired jounin.

But then again, he was facing just as much peril, as he would be going out on high-ranked missions, by having to provide constant surveillance over Kagome. There was absolutely no room for slip-ups; who knew what could happen if he let one mistake sneak by. Letting his guard down for even a split-second was not an option.

Shizune was righter than ever: this _was _too much of a haphazard decision on the Hokage's behalf.

He had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Closing his eye and dipping his head forward, Kakashi sighed inaudibly. When he raised his forehead again, he saw the raven-haired woman before him turned around somewhat, appraising him surreptitiously from the corner of her eye. After getting caught in the act, she swiftly spun back forward, proceeding mutely in the direction that was to lead them to the grocery store.

He noticed her take a faulty step, in which she almost tipped over from loss of balance. Luckily she gathered her bearings in time, though not without flapping her arms comically in the air for a few seconds. He heard her clear her throat loudly afterwards, probably trying to make up for her clumsy, embarrassing display.

She seemed so innocuous and so… not crazy and bloodthirsty.

…if only there was a foolproof way for all S-class criminals to gain permanent amnesia.

Something seemed to have caught her interest, because Kagome paused in place, her face turned in a specific direction. Kakashi followed her gaze, and watched as she bounded over to a clothing stand on the side of the road, an elderly old woman behind it zealously chatting her up in the hopes of drawing in a potential customer. He strolled up to the two, and saw how Kagome appeared especially partial to an outfit with a red and white color scheme.

It was a two piece set that went together: a white, long-sleeved top that would reveal the wearer's collarbones at the most, and a flowing, knee-length red cotton skirt.

"How pretty! Everything you've made looks so amazing, obaa-san," gushed Kagome, her brown orbs readily wandering over the other the articles of clothing, but her right hand staying put over the red and white getup. She was too distracted and captivated to realize that Kakashi was standing next to her; either that, or she wasn't paying any notice to him on purpose.

Pleased with the compliments, the old woman (whom Kakashi assumed was probably visiting Konoha for temporary business, as he'd never seen her around before in the village) crossed her short arms over her chest and grinned. The many wrinkles on her face were further defined by this action. "You have a gifted eye for aesthetics, ojou-san!" she chirped happily, adopting the I'm-about-to-sell-you-something tone. "I can see you really like that masterpiece under your fingers—how about it? I'll give you a generous discount! An elegant style of dress for an elegant and beautiful lady!"

Kagome planted her left hand on the side of her blushing face, and shook her right one frantically before her. "Oh_, _no, I can't purchase anything today, I have no—"

"You!" The persistent old woman, who was quite obviously a seasoned businessperson, was now pointing straight at Kakashi with a wizened index finger. "Your darling here rather fancies this one-of-a-kind work of art! Might be a nice early anniversary present, wouldn't you agree, _ey_?" She folded her arms again and leaned back, beady black eyes glittering.

"_We aren't—_" both Kagome and Kakashi chorused at the exact same time, the former with much more denial and force in her voice, as opposed to the latter's composed monotone.

They turned their heads to each other, surprised.

Unmindful to the mini-chaos she was brewing up in her witch's pot, the old woman clicked her tongue, wagging her finger while her eyes were closed in reminiscence. "I can recall when I was young and cute to boot. Back in the day, none of us were ever so shy and bashful about admitting who our significant others were! _Aaah_… how times have changed—oh! _Ojou-san_!" By the time she was calling after Kagome, it was already much too late. The younger female had nudged Kakashi in the elbow to gain his attention and motioned to where the grocery market was conveniently located, before nervously power-walking away. "Goodness gracious, it gets worse by every new generation, I swear…"

Deciding he should leave now before the eccentric old woman started going off on anything else, Kakashi bid her goodbye and hastily advanced to enter the store. He didn't see her as she sat serenely on a brown stool behind her stand, tapping a finger on her lower lip and looking thoughtful as she gazed up at the serene cerulean skies. Then she sighed dreamily to herself, and started packing up for the day.

When Kagome and Kakashi together exited the grocery store, they were both leisurely walking side by side.

"Ne, Kakashi-san," said the woman, peering contentedly into her brown paper bag; it was full of glossy red apples. "Is it okay for you to spend your money for two people?"

Kakashi shifted both grips on the plastic bags hanging down his sides. "The village is the one paying for your needs, not I," he answered, keeping his eyes ahead.

"Oh, I see. Konoha is really generous," Kagome remarked, though more to herself than Kakashi. "I mean, giving a stranger like me a place to stay and paying for my food and everything…"

"There are certain circumstances, now and then."

Oh, how true that proved this time around.

Kagome stuck her tongue out, smiling to herself in a silly manner. "I feel like a total freeloader. Gomen, Kakashi-san."

"Don't be," he said mildly, "you've said that you'll do your share of work too, didn't you?"

Tilting her head back to look at Kakashi, the woman grinned. "Un!" she reciprocated.

He turned to her and smiled back in return, the smile betraying nothing of his true inner thoughts. _Don't try to get too friendly, Higurashi. It won't help you in the end._

The duo walked on in silence for the following several minutes, smalltalk arising now and then on sporadic occasion. With that method they agreed on what to eat for dinner, and Kagome would ask him casual questions about Konoha, and what the village itself had to offer. Kakashi always paid meticulous attentiveness as she did, ears wide open and concentrating for if she happened to inquire of him something that seemed innocent on the surface, but with an underlying intent of gleaning vital information.

Nothing of the devious sort ever came up; she was genuinely intrigued in learning about the schools, homes, shops and people within the Leaf's protective walls. Whenever rowdy young children passed sprinting by, shrieking happily as they engaged in whatever games were popular with the kids nowadays, she would look at them and smile fondly.

So she liked kids. Hm, that was an interesting fact.

They had been about a short distance away from reaching his apartment, when suddenly—oh _god_, no—an all-too familiar and energetic voice called his name.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Shit, he cursed mentally. He didn't want to have to run into anyone he knew, not with Kagome right next to him. Even if that wasn't too logical of a wish to make, since after a certain period of time people would probably begin to notice that a particular woman had been hanging around him for quite a lengthy while. He had been a _tad_ hoping that he could maybe keep her stuffed up peacefully inside his apartment, away from the view of the public, for the majority of days to avoid just that. Dammit.

And of all those he knew in the village, it had to be—

"Yo, Naruto," he greeted as he easily spun around, eye crinkling in a deceptively amiable manner.

"Kakashi-sensei!" came another enthusiastic, more feminine cry.

Lo and behold, also closing in on the distance—

"Ah, Sakura, you're here too."

…wait.

Wasn't their team supposed to be on a three-week long mission overseas with Yamato?

"You two returned to Konoha pretty early," he said forwardly to the teenagers standing before him. He didn't bother to acknowledge Kagome, who was a few steps behind him, looking back curiously to see what the commotion was about. _Stay there, Higurashi. Please._ "I thought you'd both still be in the Sea Country on that mission."

"We finished early!" Striking his hallmark pose, fists on his hips, Naruto leaned back with a large confident grin. "It was so easy, Kakashi-sensei, you wouldn't believe it! We took the enemy down like nothing!"

"Naruto, what are you talking about, you almost lost a leg!" Sakura chimed in, knocking the boy down a peg. She had her fingers linked behind her back, smiling good-naturedly.

The blonde deflated and pouted like a kicked puppy, turning to his teammate. "Well, that's why we have you, Sakura-chan! Besides, I saved Sai—that makes up for my error, right?"

It wasn't like Kakashi _wanted _to be a wet blanket and ruin his ex-students' playful banter, but—

"That's great, Naruto, Sakura, I'm glad the mission went so well," he interrupted with a convincing smile. "I'm sort of busy right now, though, so I'll talk to you guys—"

"Kakashi-san, who are they?"

Kagome just _had_ to appear by his side, holding her brown paper bag of red apples, wearing an inviting smile on her face that his ex-students couldn't ignore.

Naruto pointed a finger at her, looking astonished.

"Who's _she_, Kakashi-sensei?"

Seconds after, he yowled in pain, his hands shooting back to the back of his head where an aching bruise was rapidly forming.

"Don't be so rude, Naruto!" Sakura hissed, shaking a warning fist at him.

"Ow, Sakura-chan!" the blonde boy whimpered, delicately rubbing his wound as crocodile tears streamed theatrically down his tanned features.

Kagome had to look away, her face twisted in delight as she used the back of her free hand to stifle her laughter.

Before Kakashi could even do anything else to try and prevent further interactions and acquainting between his ex-pupils and the currently not-so-deadly Akatsuki member (albeit she wasn't aware of that occupation herself), Kagome and Sakura were already shaking hands and exchanging names. Naruto sprung up eagerly to the raven-haired woman, the exhilaration present on his countenance sure to mean bad news for the copy ninja.

"Ne, ne, onee-san! Are you Kakashi-sensei's girlfriend?"

Okay.

That was as far as it was going to go.

Kakashi grabbed the raven-haired woman's arm, making sure not to grasp it too hard and unintentionally harm her.

"We have to get going now, I'll see you two soon," he said a bit too hurriedly, not giving the two teenagers enough time to respond before dragging Kagome off with him.

He hadn't anticipated that she would twist around with an answer for Naruto's inane inquiry, even as she were being pulled away by him.

"Oh, I don't know about that _yet_!" she quipped, raising her volume so she could be heard through the widening gap. "But we're just living together for now! You know—seeing how it goes!"

The silver-haired jounin died a little inside when she winked suggestively at Naruto and Sakura, sending them a horribly wrong and skewed message. The blonde boy's jaw dropped like a pile of dead weight, hot steam practically tooting out of his pinkened ears. (Kakashi really hoped that red drip under his nose wasn't blood.) As for the disconcerted young female medic-nin, she was blushing madly, her short pink hair seeming to stick out in random directions as if the news itself was shocking—literally.

Even as they climbed up the stairs to his apartment (normally he would jump up to his window, but like how he wasn't able to walk about in his own home in only a towel anymore, this was yet another inevitable adjustment…), Kagome was laughing merrily to herself, her mood bright.

"I like Naruto and Sakura, they seem nice," she chirruped as Kakashi unlocked the door before them with his key.

He pocketed the key, yet didn't put his hand on the doorknob, and instead stepped back and turned to the woman at his right.

"Kagome-san, you shouldn't be telling people things so glibly," he said with a disingenuous smile, his hands in his pockets. "They may make… assumptions."

Unaffected by his subtle confrontation, Kagome blithely took it upon herself to reach for the doorknob and twist it purposefully.

Kakashi's gaze lazily swung over to her raised hand, and back to her face. He saw that her lips were quirked in amusement, a mischievous twinkle in her brown eyes.

"I know, Kakashi-san, just think of what I did as payback for earlier today."

Then she opened the door and buoyantly skipped past him into the entrance of his home, brown-bagged red apples cradled in her lithe arms.

So she liked children, and she could also be vindictive…

Rubbing the back of his neck, the silver-haired jounin followed after her inside. _Good grief, this woman…_

—

While on her wobbly knees, Kaede dug through the dingy wooden drawers, a somber expression on her withered visage. As she searched through the deceased Higurashi Kikyou's bedchamber, hunting for valuables and memorable possessions that could be burned into the afterlife to meet with their departed owner, she was crestfallen to realize that most of the things in the room had been left untouched for perhaps well over five years. Thick layers of dust coated nearly all the furniture, and seldom was there anything of interest salvageable.

_Child, ye never once went back home, did ye?_ thought the old woman to herself. _Ye were always outside, training. _

Upon opening the final drawer at the bottom, her nose twitched, irritated. Not long after, she gave a great, wheezing sneeze. Kaede shook her head, covering her nostrils with the sleeve of her kimono. When she opened her teary eyes, she saw that there was naught below in the container but a neatly folded parchment. There were noticeable crinkles on the yellowed surface, as if the entire paper had once been crumpled into a ball in a fit of anger, but smoothed out afterward.

With her free hand, the old woman gingerly retrieved the item and brought it up for close inspection.

_A letter? _Her curiosity getting the best of her, she lowered the sleeve protecting half her face and ignored the itchy sensations as she used both her wrinkly hands to unfold the parchment.

On first glance, Kaede's eyes widened in shock.

"This—this is from Kagome… on the very day that child left the village…!" There was no mistake about it, judging by the indisputable date mark at the corner depicted by bold black ink.

Hands trembling, she began to read to herself the contents of the letter: Higurashi Kagome's final words…

_Kikyou-nee-san, _

…_there isn't much I can say to you, and I'm sorry things have to end this way. I can only leave you with a letter, because at this point there's no way you and I can meet and not fight each other. There's no turning back for me anymore, Nee-san, I've made up my mind and come to a conclusion. I won't live this way. I refuse to have my life forever burdened by the wicked oath that was placed on our family's name. And… I've found a man… a man who can help me_—_us_… _our clan. He says that I am the only one capable of changing things. I decided I won't wither away, like Mama, and those before her. I will determine my own fate… This is why I have left the village. Don't come looking for me, because I… I can't guarantee something horrible won't happen. But I'll return one day, and when I do, I'll have the solution with me: the cure for the Higurashi. Please, believe in me, Nee-san!_

_I will love you always, sister…_

_Higurashi Kagome_

Droplets of water fell onto the open parchment, adding to the dried tear tracks from when Kikyou had read the letter years before. Kaede brought the precious memento to her chest and pressed it desperately against her bosom, heaving a deep, shuddering breath. She closed her eyes, and for but an ephemeral moment was able to envision two little girls standing side by side, both raven-haired and brown-eyed and innocent; holding hands and waving enthusiastically at her.

_This way, Kaede-obaa-sama!_

_C'mon, Kaede-obaa-sama, over here!_

The old woman's neck craned back so it was bared vulnerably to the ceiling, strands of thinned gray hair dangling behind her head. Her colorless lips were crooked in a bittersweet smile.

"Kikyou… Kagome…"

She then collapsed to her back on the hardwood floor, her brusque fall producing a dull thud and summoning forth a cloud of provoked dust to whirl tauntingly around her decrepit physique.

"I've lost both of ye girls…"

—

"How fitting the weather is tonight," murmured Miroku to himself, sighing subsequently in a world-weary manner. He trudged up the many concrete steps, the bamboo hat on his head shielding him from the raindrops that pattered softly against it. Petrichor infiltrated his olfactory sense, an aroma that was a familiarity to the indigenous residents of the Falls. Normally the scent mollified and soothed him, blessing him with equanimity, but today it was only capable of going so far. The rings of his shakujou chimed in accordance with his movements, but even the jingling of his staff that he habitually took solace in was but a dismal clanging in his ears.

The sun had long since set, and in its place floating tranquilly in the blackened skies was the waning moon.

With the cooperative guidance of lanterns, he eventually reached the summit of the stairs, and standing before large brown doors, inhaled deeply.

Then, he raised a gloved fist to knock.

He rapped the slick wooden surface thrice. There was no audible answer, and Miroku had been about to repeat his actions (albeit more loudly this time), when the doors swung open.

"_What_! Who is it _now_?" screeched a querulous high-pitched voice. "Can't you bastards _see _I'm mourning—oh… it's you, Miroku."

"Good evening, Jakotsu," he greeted with a solemn nod.

The cross-dresser appeared absolutely _dreadful_. His usually perfectly applied makeup was trailing freely down his fair complexion, mixed with the watery substance that was his tears. The raven hair that was always swept up into an elaborate bun was hanging loosely down his undeniably masculine shoulders. He rather obviously had not sought out the services of a brush or comb this morning. With a worn and sodden handkerchief in one hand, he dabbed hastily at his swollen eyes, sniffling for the final time.

Then, Jakotsu's expression immediately solidified, turning stony and grave.

Before the younger shinobi could even utter another word, he was grabbed by the front of his robe and pulled into the Shichinintai's residence.

While being hauled forcibly through the hallways, his clothes dripping water, Miroku tried to tug himself away from Jakotsu to no avail. (The cross-dresser was much stronger than he always let on…) At last when he worked his voice up to yell in protest at the older man for what he was doing to him, he was silenced almost instantly after by an intimidating glare. Mouth snapping shut with a click, the Houshi surrendered and resorted to staying quiet until his escorted 'ride' was over.

He was deposited none too gently inside a badly lit room.

Jakotsu exercised no ladylike daintiness in slamming the door shut behind him.

Straightening up, Miroku took off his bamboo hat and surveyed the enclosed space.

In the center, hunched over a low black study table with nothing but a candle to supply adequate lighting, was a man with not a hair on his head, his acute gaze riveted onto his guest. His elbows were stationed on the smooth obsidian surface below him, his hands folded neatly under his chin. A motley of countless scrolls, parchments, maps and notes were splayed out chaotically before him, which was sorely unlike the generally fastidious Shichinintai male.

Miroku brought a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Before his passing, Bankotsu advised that I—"

"Yes, I know," the man interrupted shrewdly, "I've been anticipating your visit, Miroku."

"Renkotsu-san."

The Shichinintai gestured sinuously with his hand to the seat across from him. "Have a seat. There is much to discuss."

—

Kagome obliged herself in taking a bite from her apple. The fruit was crisp and ripe, and its saccharine juices were a pleasure for her taste buds to relish. Elbows propped up on the small dining table, one hand firmly held onto the succulent red sphere covered partly in a paper towel, while the other supported her leaning chin on an open palm. Kakashi was sitting with one leg crossed over the other on the opposite end, a lewd book directly under his nose. She studied him as she slowly devoured her after-dinner dessert.

While chewing thoughtfully, a wonder arose in her mind. She swallowed before opening her mouth to vocalize it.

"Kakashi-san?"

He didn't lift his gaze from the novel. "Yes?"

"Why do you…" Kagome tipped her head slightly to the side, almost innocently, as she considered how to word her inquiry.

"Why do I…?"

"Your left eye," she said slowly, "why do you cover it?"

Now, what kind of a question was _that_?

Regardless, apprising her of his Sharingan would be of no benefit for him.

"It was wounded in battle," the silver-haired jounin answered simply, providing her with a typical ninja-esque response.

Her mouth formed a small 'oh' in understanding.

Kakashi calmly turned a page. "What makes you ask, Kagome-san?"

She hesitated for a bit, and that made him peer up at her out of interest.

"Well," she eventually confessed, "I know I shouldn't be saying something like this about your injury… but it's, ano, sort of comforting." The woman finished with a small tentative smile, her unfinished apple hovering near her mouth.

_Comforting?_

"Hai, it seems familiar," Kagome murmured softly to herself, as if having heard his mental response. She averted her gaze before supplementing, "I like it."

For a bit longer, Kakashi contemplated the woman with his single right eye. Her lips curved into a wistful smile, and he didn't think she even noticed that they had.

—

Deidara swept aside the golden strip of hair in front of his face, revealing the mechanical device situated over his left eye. With it he scanned the forest grounds below him, where his female accomplice had last been spotted. He managed to zoom in on nothing worthwhile; there was naught but wild rabbits, rocks and boulders, trees, the devastation from the fight not too long ago, and an occasional deer. The ex-rock ninja clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in annoyance.

Soaring through the starless night skies on his clay avian bird, he momentarily regarded the dazzling moon above him. Somewhere, somewhere out there, Kagome was under the same moon.

_Wait for me_.

…_I'll find you. _

—

A blue-haired woman dressed in a loose robe of white sat cross-legged before a tall blazing fire, her eyes closed in concentration and her mouth pressed together in a firm line. The scorching, crackling flames were contained within a medium-sized square border built completely of sacred stones. Her pallid complexion was accentuated by the golden-orange hue projected upon it. Beads of sweat shot down her temples, but not due to the intense heat in front of her. Through her meditation she seemed to have discovered something especially unpleasant, for her forehead creased delicately in worry and her lips began shifting rapidly in an incoherent chant. Fused in with the _snaps _and _pops_ of the fire was the mellow droning of her elaborate incantation.

Her hands, which were clasped tightly before her bosom in a prayer, shook fiercely as her voice picked up in volume.

Within the expansive room's walls her urgent words reverberated. The shadow behind her frame flickered conspicuously, and it appeared to expand without her detection…

Suddenly, amber eyes shot wide open, fearful and knowing. And precisely at that instant, the fire was vanquished by an unknown force, leaving not even residual embers in its wake—as if the thick brown sticks of wood below had never been utilized to bring forth flames in the first place. The entire area was blanketed in unsympathetic darkness.

Breathing raggedly, the woman shakily drew herself up to her feet. Aspirating sharply, she shut her eyes and willed herself to regain her composure.

Once she did, she opened them again, and her honey-tinted orbs narrowed. The smell of burning wood was still in the air, teasing her.

The hands at her sides curled into tense fists, and loosened, before tightening again.

"The shadows_, _they search for me," she whispered grimly, lowering her forehead onto an open palm. "…is this your doing, Pein?"

She had no time to further ponder when the heavy entrance doors to her shrine slammed open. White moonlight beams seeped inside, illuminating her stationary form.

"Konan-shishou!" two voices cried out in chorus, undoubtedly panicked; one belonging to a boy, and the other to a girl.

Turning deliberately to the preteens, Konan gauged their trembling forms and distressed expressions with her amber eyes. They had felt it too, she determined.

"Are you all right?" the boy said with utmost concern, rushing over to her.

The girl came to her as well, albeit with more grace in her steps, wringing her hands. "We—we felt an ominous presence closing in on your shrine, Shishou."

"I am fine," Konan told them with a strained smile, allaying them partially of their manifest anxiety. She prayed they wouldn't pay too much mind to the way her sweat-drenched hair clung to her face. As for them, it took practically nothing for her to perceive how terrified they were; she didn't wish to frighten them any more by revealing how she herself was highly disturbed. The chilly evening winds slithered into her shrine through the open entrance, cooling off her heated skin.

The blue-haired woman didn't require clairvoyance to know what was going on, and what _had_ to happen.

Before the preteens could say anything else, she spoke first.

"Souta, Rin," she began gently, her tone deceitfully poised as usual. She tenderly placed her hands on top of their heads, meeting their wide, questioning gazes. "I will be leaving. Tomorrow."

"W-what!"

"But—_why_, Shishou?"

_I cannot endanger you two, nor anyone else in this peaceful village_. Konan smiled again, concealing her own dread. "There is something I must do," she answered, withdrawing her hands.

The boy, Souta, looked down at his feet in dejection. He knew there was nothing he could say or do to convince her to stay.

His Shishou was a strong and adamant woman who always stayed true to her convictions and decisions.

Rin, on the other more optimistic hand, tried her best to smile at her mentor; it wasn't working, but the earnest intention was there. "When… will you be coming back?"

At that, the young male beside her lifted his chin. He regarded Konan with an endearingly sanguine expression.

For some inexplicable reason, the blue-haired woman's heart wrenched painfully in her chest.

But Konan willed herself to smile reassuringly at her two young pupils.

"Very soon."

She was lying through her teeth.


End file.
